MANILA, Nov 12 (NNN-PNA) – Philippines is on its way to become the world’s biggest importer of rice this year following the government’s decision to allow the unimpeded importation of the staple as a way to bring down prices, international data showed.
A report by the United States’ Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Services (USDA-FAS) projected the country’s rice imports to reach a record three million metric tons (MT) by year-end—the highest in the world and the highest for the country.
This tops the current biggest importer of rice, China. The Asian nation, with a population of 1.4 billion, is expected to import 2.5 million MT of rice this year.
Last month, the two countries were tied at the top spot with a projection of 3.1 million MT of rice imports.
Based on USDA-FAS’ estimates, the country’s imports would increase by 58 percent to three million MT from 1.9 million MT last year, and by 275 percent against the 2017 record.
The spike in the country’s imports was due to the enactment of the rice tariffication law in Mar, which opened the country’s doors to unlimited rice imports. With the new policy, traders are now allowed to import rice regardless of the volume so long as they would be able to secure the necessary permits and pay a tariff of 35 percent.
The volume of rice imports since Mar has yet to slow down despite data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing that the country only needed to import about 1.9 million MT of rice to fill local demand.
