Government discards G2G rice import plan

MANILA, Philippines  — The Philippine International Trading Center (PITC), an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is no longer pursuing the planned government-to-government (G2G) importation of 300,000 metric tons (MT) of rice.

In a statement yesterday, DTI said the rice imports targeted to arrive during the lean months of July and August will no longer proceed, following official communication from Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

“Under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), PITC is the agency tasked to merely implement any directive from DA  (Department of Agriculture) to import rice under a G2G arrangement. The provisions of the RTL basically opens up rice importation to any private group,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

He said the initial plan for G2G importation was due to a

potential threat in maintaining a good buffer supply of rice for the country.

This, as he said earlier computations from the DA showed a threat to the targeted level of buffer stock following Vietnam’s imposition of a ban on rice exports earlier this year.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has decided to lift the ban on rice exports starting May fafter a proposal from its Ministry of Trade and Industry to fully resume rice shipments.

“With the lifting of the rice export ban of Vietnam, we can expect more comfortable buffer stock levels moving forward,” Lopez said.

Vietnam is a major source of rice imports of the Philippines, accounting for over 90 percent of the country’s rice imports.

Around seven to 14 percent of the Philippines’ total rice requirements are imports.

“Also, with the rice imports handled by the private sector traders as stipulated by the RTL, their purchase of rice imports will mean generating greater tariff revenues for the government which, under the RTL, will be used to fund the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). RCEF is meant to boost productivity and income of the country’s rice farmers,” Dar said.

Earlier, the Federation of Free Farmers questioned the legal basis for the planned rice importation as there is no pronouncement of a shortage of the staple.

According to earlier reports, PITC also had difficulty getting the amount needed for the importation from the Department of Budget and Management as there is no formal instruction from President Duterte for the release of funds.