The Department of Agriculture (DA) is likely to recommend extending the ongoing rice import ban for at least two more weeks.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier approved a 60-day suspension of rice imports from Sept. 1 to Oct. 30 to coincide with the peak wet season palay harvest.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the ban has helped raise farmgate prices of palay, directly benefiting farmers.
“Pending data validation, I am now inclined to recommend that the President extend the ban for at least 15 to 30 days,” Laurel said.
He noted that before the suspension, farmgate prices of wet palay dropped to PHP8 to PHP10 per kilo, but have since improved, reaching PHP17 in some parts of Mindanao. Prices in Isabela and Nueva Ecija have also increased to PHP13 to PHP14 per kilo, though these remain below the PHP14 per kilo production cost.
The DA said imported rice volume continues to influence traders’ buying prices. As of Sept. 11, some 3.08 million metric tons of imported rice had entered the country under 3,574 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances.
The department is set to submit its recommendation to the President on Sept. 30.
