Customs collects P6.5 B from rice tariffs

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P6.48 billion in tariffs from rice imports made by private traders since the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law in March, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

Citing a preliminary report from the BOC, the DOF said the government generated P6.48 billion in additional revenue from the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law from March 5 to July 15, translating to an average of P1.4 billion in income a month.

The DOF said the bulk of the rice tariff revenue came from the port of Subic, which collected P1.6 billion.

This was followed by the Manila International Container Port (MICP) with collections amounting to P1.03 billion and the port of Manila with P998.77 million.

With an average of P1.4 billion in collections a month, the DOF said the BOC is still on track to generate P10 billion in revenue from rice tariffs this year, which would be used for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

The Rice Liberalization Act seeks to liberalize the importation of rice imports in the country by imposing tariffs in lieu of quantitative restrictions.

The law also provides the creation of the RCEF, which is set at P10 billion annually for six years, for programs to boost the productivity and global competitiveness of Filipino rice farmers.

Under the law, P5 billion of the fund will go to the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) for the provision of post-harvest equipment to farmers, P3 billion to the Philippine Rice Research Institute for the development and distribution of seeds, P1 billion for the provision of credit and another P1 billion for the training of farmers.

Just two weeks ago, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released P5 billion for the RCEF, of which P700 million will go to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

DBM officer-in-charge Janet Abuel said the DBM has also released an amount of P5 billion to the Department of Agriculture (DA) last year, but it is still “contentious” if this amount would be considered part of the RCEF.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez earlier described the Rice Tariffication Law as a “proud” accomplishment of the Duterte administration, given that it took more than 30 years for Congress to approve this reform.

Liberalizing rice imports, he said, is expected to make rice more affordable and accessible to Filipino families, lower the country’s inflation rate, revolutionize the agriculture sector and help farmers become more productive and competitive in the global economy.