Typhoon series jacks up rice imports to new highs

STABLE SUPPLY. Workers move sacks of rice to another truck along Dagupan Street in Tondo, Manila on Sept. 9, 2024. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said Wednesday (Oct. 2, 2024) rice imports may surpass last year’s volume to supplement the country’s strong harvest and maintain a stable rice supply in the country. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

Shipments of milled rice bound for the Philippines might exceed 5 million metric tons (MT) per year until 2025 as a recent string of storms slashed local production, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In a report, the USDA jacked up its projection on the country’s rice imports due to a “smaller crop,” now estimated at 5.3 million MT for 2024 and 5.4 million MT for 2025.

This was higher than the foreign agency’s previous forecast of 5 million MT this year and 5.1 million MT in 2025.

If the projections are met, the yearly volume of inbound cargos of the staple grain will surpass the record-high 3.83 million MT that was reached in 2022.

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The USDA revised upward its projections on rice imports as it pegged the domestic milled production at 12 million MT this year, lower than the previously projected 12.3 million MT.

The Philippines became the world’s biggest rice importer in 2023 and will remain so until at least 2025, having overtaken China which held the top spot in 2021 and 2022, based on the American agency’s monitoring.

In an earlier report released last month, the USDA noted that the Philippines is importing “record amounts” of rice as demand picks up alongside reduced import duties.

The USDA said the Philippines relied on Vietnam, the leading source of imported rice, for more than 80 percent of shipments.

Last June, President Marcos signed Executive Order No. 62 which slashed rice tariff rates to 15 percent until 2028 from 35 percent.

This move is intended to augment local supply while managing prices and alleviating the inflationary pressure of commodities.

So far this year, traders have brought in 4.35 million MT of imported rice as of Dec. 5, based on the latest figures from the Bureau of Plant Industry.

With still three weeks to go, the volume was already higher than the 3.6 million MT recorded for full-year 2023.

In November alone, rice imports totaled 434,655.5 MT, approaching the highest monthly import volume of 572,073.96 MT that was set last October.

Year-to-date import volume was also 148,564.5 MT away from the Philippine Department of Agriculture’s estimate of 4.5 million MT of rice imports coming in for the entire year.

The DA said the influx of imported rice has made up for the substantial losses incurred this year due to a series of typhoons that hit the archipelago in recent months.