PH ups rice import volume to 805K MT

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines has more than doubled its minimum rice import volume to 805,000 tons yearly from 350,000 tons, according to country’s chief negotiator on the trade of the staple grain.

Romeo Recide, who was most recently the director of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, said Thursday that of the new minimum access volume, 755,000 tons will be allocated as country-specific quotas while the remaining 55,000 tons may come from any trading partner.

Recide said suppliers from Vietnam and Thailand would get the bulk of the new country quotas.

Previously, country allocations totaled 163,000 tons while 187,000 tons accounted for the so-called omnibus import volume.

Last Monday, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the Philippines has practically secured an extension of the quantitative restrictions or barriers on rice imports until 2017 as all countries with interest in accessing the local market have assented.

Alcala said the World Trade Organization’s Council for Trade in Goods will endorse such extension for approval when the WTO general council convenes on July 24-25.

The agriculture chief said that this next step was “merely formality” and that the Philippines can now continue observing the controlled entry of imported rice into the domestic market.

Quantitative restrictions on Philippine rice imports are supposed to have expired in 2012 amid international efforts to break down barriers to free trade.

However, the Philippines was able to engage its trading partners in talks for an extension of another five years to buy time for the domestic industry to be more competitive and for the country to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production.

In 2013, China, India and Indonesia approved the continuing implementation of the quotas. Talks held over the past several months involved negotiations with Australia, Canada, the United States and Thailand.