MANILA, Philippines — The proposal of President Duterte to revive the ancient barter trade system continues to move forward after he directed the Department of Finance to implement it in the southern part of the country where rice prices have soared over the past months.
During the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Duterte has directed Finance chief Carlos Dominguez to immediately implement the barter trade system in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (Zambasulta), the areas which used to trade with neighbouring Sabah.
It was Piñol’s idea to “legalize smuggling” in the area by establishing rice trading centers to ensure sufficient rice supply after Zamboanga City declared a state of calamity following high prices of rice.
“President Duterte said he supports the re-establishment of the barter trading center in Tawi-Tawi and of bringing in rice from Sabah to supply the needs of the people in the islands provided it follows legal processes,” Piñol said.
During the meeting, the agri chief presented the proposal which is expected to curb rice smuggling and earn the government an estimated P1 billion in tariffs every year.
“In the proposal I submitted, I asked the President to allow the establishment of a rice trading center supervised by the National Food Authority where rice supplies would be brought in legally by going through quarantine inspections, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements and payment of tariffs,” Piñol said.
“I proposed that the volume of rice to be brought in should not exceed the total consumption requirements of the area which is about 200,000 metric tons every year,” he said.
The DOF, meanwhile, has also agreed with the proposal of Duterte.
“We have recommended the implementation of a barter trade zone for Sulu and Tawi-Tawi,” Dominguez said.
For many years, Zambasulta has relied on smuggled rice from Vietnam and Thailand which is brought into the country via Sabah.
The areas have been largely dependent on good quality smuggled rice which is being sold at a low of P34 per kilogram.
Local rice production was set aside which is only at 10 percent of its total rice requirements of 220,000 MT annually.
The rice crisis in Zamboanga City and nearby provinces started with the closure of the rice smuggling routes from Malaysia last month.