P43 imported rice MSRP to stay even as benchmark price warrants 20% tariff

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said the P43-per-kilo maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice will stay for the moment, even though the designated price benchmark would currently warrant an increase in tariffs to 20%.

The planned increase in rice import duties from 15% to 20% is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 16.

“The January MSRP will stay at P43 because the duty is still 15%,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement, adding that the process for tariff adjustment has yet to be finalized.

Executive Order No. 105 calls for rice import tariffs to be adjusted in increments of five percentage points when movements in global rice prices hit certain thresholds.

The benchmark price that will form the basis of tariff adjustments is the monthly average price of Vietnam 5% broken rice, as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Vietnam 5% broken rice currently fetches $361.1 per metric ton, according to the FAO, a price level that would cause the Philippines to charge a 20% tariff.

The DA added that it plans to import an initial 500,000 metric tons of rice after the import ban expires on Dec. 31, with some 50,000 metric tons to be allocated to Food Terminals, Inc.

Mr. Laurel said the government will time its announcements on prices to deter speculation.

The DA said keeping the MSRP in place provides consumers with short-term price stability. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel