Manila: The Philippines will not impose a temporary ban on rice imports as the country prepares for the anticipated effects of the looming peak El Ni±o, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced.
According to Philippines News Agency, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. stated that the government aims to ensure an adequate supply of rice until the following year, despite the approaching local harvest season for palay (unhusked rice) in September. 'There is a big El Ni±o coming towards November-December. Technically, we have to have buffer stocks for preparation for December, January, February, March, April next year,' Tiu Laurel said during a market inspection at New Las Pi±as City Public Market.
The country has already exceeded the 3 million metric tons (MT) level of imported rice volume. 'Actually, 3.3 million metric tons na ang import (Imports have reached 3.3 million metric tons) as of yesterday. Mino-monitor ko iyan (I'm monitoring it) every week, and there will definitely be no import ban,' Tiu Laurel confirmed.
Tiu Laurel assured that farmgate prices for wet palay will remain stable, avoiding the drastic price drops experienced last year due to the high volume of rice imports. 'I am hoping. But I believe hindi iyan bababa sa (it will not drop to) PHP8 to PHP12 per kilogram,' he mentioned in a message to the Philippine News Agency.
As part of the support measures, the National Food Authority (NFA) council, headed by Tiu Laurel, will implement a flexible palay procurement scheme. The NFA plans to buy a higher volume at a higher price, securing 500,000 metric tons of palay from local farmers, an increase from the previous year.
The DA has allocated approximately PHP20 billion for local palay procurement for 2026, significantly higher than last year's PHP9 billion budget. 'So more than times two. That will surely help our farmers,' Tiu Laurel noted.
Additionally, the NFA will procure fresh and wet palay from Filipino rice producers at PHP21 per kg., and PHP25 to PHP27 per kg. for dry palay. The agriculture chief has also called for the immediate decongestion of NFA warehouses in September to facilitate more palay purchases. This initiative includes increasing the volume of rice stocks disposal through the government's PHP20 per kilo rice program under the Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na initiative.
