MANILA: The Philippines, among the world’s largest buyers of rice, will suspend rice imports for 60 days from Sept 1 to protect local farmers impacted by falling prices during the harvest season, the government said on Wednesday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered the suspension, Communications Secretary Dave Gomez told reporters, adding tariff increases on imported rice had been ruled out for now.
The Philippines imported 4.8 million metric tonnes of rice last year, with Southeast Asian neighbours Vietnam and Thailand among its key suppliers. It was not immediately clear whether any pending orders would be affected by the suspension.
Marcos’ move came as data showed agricultural and fisheries output grew by 5.7 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 437.53 billion pesos (US$7.6 billion), marking the fastest expansion in eight years.
Crop output, which accounted for 56 per cent of total farm production, climbed 11.3 per cent from a year earlier.
Rice production grew an annual 13.9 per cent, a sharp acceleration from the 0.3 per cent growth in the first quarter.
Falling rice prices helped slow annual inflation to a near six-year low of 0.9 per cent in July, after the government had declared a “food security emergency” earlier this year to bring down the cost of the national staple.
Economic growth data on Thursday is forecast to show the economy grew by an annual 5.4 per cent in the second quarter, matching the previous quarter’s growth rate, a Reuters poll found.
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