Philippines : Rice imports jump to 820,000 MT at end-February despite curbs
The Philippines imported over 820,000 tonnes of rice in January–February, up 49% year on year and exceeding the government’s request to limit shipments. Vietnam remained the top supplier, while authorities continue monitoring supply and prices amid concerns over potential inflation and global market disruptions.
The country’s rice imports in the first two months increased by nearly half year-on-year to more than 800,000 metric tons (MT), exceeding the government’s request to minimize importation ahead of potential price adjustments in the Filipino food staple.
The latest data from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed that rice imports from January to February reached 820,160 MT, up 49 percent from the 550,736 MT recorded in the same period last year.
Import volume as of end-February was around 220,000 MT higher, or 37 percent more, than the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) request to limit shipments of foreign rice to 600,000 MT.
The DA earlier secured commitments from rice traders and importers to curb the entry of cheaper rice imports to ensure that farmgate prices remain stable. However, since there is no law granting the agency the power to limit rice importation, such pledges remain voluntary.
For March and April, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said he has also obtained the backing of industry players to voluntarily limit rice imports to 150,000 MT for each month.
Even amid fears of elevated inflation due to the ongoing Middle East conflict, Tiu Laurel told Manila Bulletin that import volume will remain unchanged since the matter will be decided by rice stakeholders.
But on the part of the DA, Tiu Laurel said the agency is closely monitoring escalating tensions between the United States (US), Israel, and Iran to ensure that supply and prices of food remain stable.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), inflation rose to a 13-month high of 2.4 percent in February, largely due to increases in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
“We are now taking steps to secure supply so food and farm inputs are sufficient in anticipation of price shocks that may follow the current situation in the Middle East,” Tiu Laurel said in a statement.
As of March 5, the country’s rice imports had reached 865,107 MT, with the bulk, or 97 percent, consisting of regular milled rice, while the rest is made up of special rice.
Vietnam was the country’s top rice supplier for the first two months, as the neighboring Southeast Asian country shipped 751,445 MT, or nearly 87 percent of total import volume.
Other major sources for the Philippines include Thailand with 61,316 MT, Myanmar with 40,975 MT, and Cambodia with 9,660 MT.
So far, BPI has issued a total of 1,086 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) for the importation of 1.12 million MT of milled rice, but only 77 percent has arrived in the country.
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