Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Tuesday that specific shipments of imported rice will be allowed entry into the Philippines via four designated ports until September 15, despite a 60-day import ban that commenced on Monday. The ban aligns with the beginning of the local palay (unhusked rice) harvest season.

According to Philippines News Agency, entry permission applies exclusively to rice shipments that departed their countries of origin before the end of August. The designated ports for these shipments are located in Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. DA spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa, clarified that rice must have been shipped before August 31 and must arrive in the Philippines no later than September 15. Any shipments dispatched after August 31 will be denied entry and sent back to their origin.

Certain rice varieties, including Japonica, Basmati, and glutinous rice from Vietnam, are exempted from the import suspension due to a prior agreement. As of August 28, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) reported that 419,000 metric tons of rice are anticipated to arrive from 210 importers with sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances issued for August. Import arrivals have reached 264,000 metric tons so far, bringing the total import inventory to 2.8 million metric tons.