President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the extension of the country’s rice import ban until the end of the year to further lift farm-gate prices of palay as the wet harvest season continues, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced on Sunday.
Tiu Laurel said the President made the move after observing that the import halt had “little impact on retail prices and supply of rice but a significant effect on the farmgate price of palay.”
Under Executive Order No. 93, regular and well-milled rice imports were first paused from September 1 to October 31 to cushion farmers from falling palay prices, which had plunged to as low as P8 per kilo in some areas before the ban took effect. The temporary freeze helped prices rebound in major rice-growing provinces, including Isabela and Nueva Ecija, where farm-gate rates rose to P13 to P14 per kilo.
Data from the Department of Agriculture showed palay prices surged to as high as P16.50 per kilo between September 8 and 12 before leveling off to around P13.50 per kilo by mid-September. While this range sits near the estimated P12 to P14 production cost per kilo, it remains short of the P17 per kilo floor price the government targets under Executive Order No. 100, which authorizes the DA to set a minimum procurement price for palay.
Tiu Laurel previously noted that excess rice imports, combined with poor harvests in some regions and bad weather, had dragged prices down sharply before the ban.
Farmer groups have since urged the government to gradually raise tariffs on imported rice to 35 percent to further protect local growers as policy adjustments continue.
