Philippines : Rice tariff collection down 59% on 4-month import freeze
Philippines saw rice tariff collections plunge 59% in 2025 after a four-month import freeze reduced shipments to a four-year low. Authorities may again curb imports in 2026 to support falling farmgate rice prices amid concerns over rising input costs and El Niño risks.
The country’s rice tariff collection plunged by 59 percent to P13.9 billion in 2025 as shipments slumped to its lowest level due to the four-month import freeze.
Data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected P13.9 billion in rice duties last year, from the record P34.2 billion in 2024.
Broken down, tariff collections in the first quarter amounted to P4.3 billion, second quarter at P5.47 billion, third quarter at P3.6 billion, and fourth quarter at P511.43 million.
Tariff collections plummeted in the last quarter of 2025 after the government slapped a temporary ban on foreign rice shipments to prop up farmgate price of palay that fell to a low of P8 per kilo.
It was initially set to last for only 60 days starting September 1, but President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended this until December 31 to stabilize prices of unmilled rice.
The ban covered regular and well-milled rice, excluding special varieties such as Japonica, glutinous, and basmati rice.
Figures from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed that the Philippines imported 3.39 million metric tons (MMT) of rice in 2025, the lowest level in four years since the 2.77 MMT posted in 2021.
With the global oil crisis triggered by the Middle East war squeezing farmers’ margins and the threats posed by El Niño in the second half, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said rice arrivals in 2026 could hit a new record high.
DA officials project palay output this year to fall within a range of 18.6 MMT to 18.8 MMT if prices of inputs—fertilizer and fuel—sustain their upward momentum.
The latest outlook was lower than the agency’s initial 20.28 MMT forecast for this year before the price shocks and is poised to be the lowest in a decade should it materialize.
With farmgate prices of palay sliding to as low as P16 per kilo in key rice-producing areas as the main harvest season nears its completion, the DA is looking at curbing rice imports once more.
The DA said it is considering limiting monthly rice imports volumes from June to August to “balance supply and farmgate price concerns.” This will ensure sufficient domestic supply while preventing a farmgate price collapse.
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Source : Business Mirror
