The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) and the MAGSASAKA Party List (MAGSASAKA) filed a petition, asking Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel, Jr. to immediately impose provisional safeguard duty on rice imports to address the drastic plunge in palay prices, stating that import ban will not prop up palay prices.
Farmgate prices have again reportedly dropped below Php 10 per kilo with the onset of the wet season harvest period despite the government’s 60-day ban on imports until November 2, 2025.
The FFF and MAGSASAKA, which filed the petition on Monday, September 29, said the country’s 2.5 million rice farmers will suffer a PHP43 billion drop in their incomes this year due to the surge in cheap imports following the reduction in import duties from 35 percent to 15 percent in July 2024. Moreover, international rice prices have dropped by 40 percent from their peak levels at the start of 2024.
“By itself, the import ban will not prop up palay prices significantly, because traders anticipate that cheap imports will flood the market again when the ban is lifted in November,” said Raul Montemayor, FFF National Manager, who represented the FFF in the petition.
But, increasing the tariff is the most effective way to convince traders that they can pay higher prices to farmers and still be competitive with imports during the off season. “It is the best and fastest way to raise the tariffs at this time is through the Safeguard Measures Act. Waiting for Congress or an Executive Order will take too long,” added Montemayor.
Under the Safeguard Measures Act or Republic Act 8800, the DA Secretary can impose safeguard duties or taxes on top of regular tariffs, if there is a surge in rice imports that have caused, or threaten to cause, serious harm to local farmers. Importers will be required to post a bond equivalent to the safeguard duty in addition to paying the current 15 percent tariff.
The safeguard duty can last for up to 200 days, while the Tariff Commission conducts a formal investigation and issues its final ruling on the case.
Meanwhile, MAGSASAKA Chairman Argel Joseph T. Cabatbat pointed out that the proposed floor price for palay will not work if market prices remain low due to cheap imports. The scheme could even backfire on farmers, should traders decide to stop buying palay in order to avoid penalties for not complying with the mandated minimum price, he warned.
“The low prices that rice producers have been receiving for their labors represent not just an economic problem. They threaten the very survival of rice farmers and the long-term security of our entire agricultural sector,” emphasized Cabatbat, who represented the party-list organization in the petition and urged Secretary Tiu-Laurel to act swiftly on the matter.
