MANILA — The country’s direction of doing away with the import quota regime on rice is expected to bring down prices of the Filipinos’ staple food and will benefit farmers through a fund that provides subsidies to them, Senator Grace Poe said Thursday.
Economic managers estimate that rice prices could go down to PHP30.30 per kg., including transportation cost, once the quota on rice imports is removed and instead, a 35-percent tariff rate is imposed.
Poe is a co-author of Senate Bill (SB) No. 1998 that seeks to lift quantitative restrictions or quota on rice importation by amending Republic Act No. 8178, as amended.
She said the measure is expected to result in tempered inflation, as food prices continue to be the main driver for the uptick in commodity prices.
“Sa pagpasa ng panukalang batas na ito, inaasahang kahit papaano ay mapipigilan ang hagupit ng inflation sa presyo ng bigas pati na rin ang nababalitang kakapusan sa supply ng bigas (With the passage of this proposed measure, we expect it would somehow stop the effects of inflation on the prices of rice and the reported shortage of rice supply),” said Poe, whose measure, Senate Resolution 143, was included in the committee report.
“Kung patuloy ang taas ng presyo ng gasolina, sana man lang sa kabilang banda maibaba natin ang presyo ng bigas na kinakain natin tatlong beses sa isang araw (If the prices of gasoline continue to skyrocket, we hope to bring down the price of rice that we consume thrice a day),” she added.
Under SB 1998 or the Rice Tariffication bill sponsored last month by the Senate agriculture committee, rice imports will be slapped with a 35-percent tariff rate in lieu of quantitative restrictions (QR) that limit the volume of rice imports every year.
The QR on rice imports was imposed after the Philippines became a member of the World Trade Organization in 1995. The country had secured several extensions of QR on rice imports and the last “waiver on the special treatment of rice” expired in June last year.
The legislation also establishes a Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which will mainly be sourced from rice tariffs, to finance the procurement of farm machinery and equipment, irrigation, subsidies and credit to farmers and rice research to improve the competitiveness of the country’s rice sector.
“Nararapat lang na magkaroon ng ‘rice fund’ na manggagaling sa taripa ng imported na bigas, at dapat mabantayan ito nang maigi at masigurong mapupunta sa ikauunlad ng mga maliliit na magsasaka ng palay at hindi matulad sa coco levy fund na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa natitikman ng mga magniniyog (It’s only right to have a ‘rice fund’ that would come from the tariffs on imported rice and this should be tightly guarded to ensure that it would benefit small palay farmers, unlike what happened to the coco levy fund that until now has not been given to coconut farmers),” Poe said, referring to an oversight committee that will be constituted to review the fund periodically.
Inflation soared to a record high of 6.7 percent last month, with food and non-alcoholic beverages, which includes rice, contributing 9.7 percent to consumer prices.
The retail price of regular milled rice averaged PHP46 per kg. while well-milled rice averaged PHP49 per kg.
The bill, which is pending second reading in the Senate, has been certified urgent and a priority measure by Malacañang. (Senate PR/PNA)
