Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered the creation of a technical working group (TWG) on rice importation, signaling a more data-driven and strategically managed approach to balancing supply, prices, and farmer protection as the country heads into another critical cycle for its staple grain.
The move comes as the Department of Agriculture (DA) races to finalize import policies for May while laying the groundwork for a more structured system later in the year. Speaking in a recent meeting with industry players and DA officials, Tiu Laurel made clear that speed and discipline are now non-negotiable.
“We have to work fast. It’s already February,” he said, instructing the TWG to meet weekly and deliver policy recommendations within weeks. The TWG will be comprised of, among others, representatives from the DA-Office of Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development and Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM), and Philippine Rice Importers Association (PRIA).
At its core, the TWG shall be established to enhance the strategic oversight of the rice importation using transparent and evidence-based decisions. Instead of ad hoc approvals, the group will focus on license-based access verified by performance, guided by data on regional deficits, buffers, and real-time stock levels.
The immediate goal is ensuring enough imported rice enters the market to temper prices without overwhelming local harvests. Tiu Laurel said the initial import volumes for May will remain “simple,” but more complex mechanisms—such as linking import participation to purchases from local farmers—are firmly on the table for later in the year, potentially after the wet season. What sets this effort apart is its analytical data-driven approach.
The TWG is expected to refine a two-layer system that balances equity and efficiency, determining not just how much rice to import, but when and where it should go—down to provincial and regional levels. Future import volume and timing will be data guided pointing to a calibrated system for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and eventually priced per province said Tiu Laurel Transparency is another pressure point.
The DA plans to tighten reporting requirements on rice stocks, warning that traders and warehouses that fail to submit data risk losing import eligibility to import registration. With only a fraction of registered warehouses currently reporting, Tiu Laurel was blunt: no data, no import participation.
For farmers, the promise is protection through structure. By aligning import timing with verified market needs and enforcing compliance across traders and millers, the DA aims to curb speculative behavior that distorts prices at the farm gate.
For consumers, the payoff is steadier supply and fewer price spikes driven by uncertainty. In effect, the TWG represents the DA’s effort to move rice policy from crisis response to system-building—where imports are no longer a blunt tool, but a calibrated lever supporting both market stability and domestic production.
