RICE import arrivals as of July 20 reached nearly 2.4 million metric tons (MMT), according to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). Figures from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed that total rice imports from January 1 to July 20 hit 2.39 MMT.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary and Spokesman Arnel de Mesa said on Monday that shipments after July 6 were already levied with the 15 percent tariff rate. Rice imports from the first three weeks of July stood at 56,118 MT.
More than 1.78 MMT of rice imports from this period came from Vietnam, which remains the country’s top source of imported rice. This was followed by Thailand at 358,727.74 MT.
BPI data showed that the country imported 154,523.82 MT of rice from Pakistan, higher than the 99,280.71 MT full-year import volume recorded last year.
The Philippines also bought rice from Myanmar at 66,640 MT and India at 21,875.14 MT.
Orison Free Enterprise Inc. led the 157 rice importers with a total volume of 152,009.35 MT. This was followed by BLY Agri Venture Trading and Macman Rice and Corn Trading at 147,928.99 MT and 115,410.80, respectively.
These were the only companies whose rice imports reached over 100,000 MT.
Data from the BPI also showed that it approved and issued 4,995 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) which covered the importation of 5.5 MMT of rice.
Under the rules, rice importers should secure an SPSIC from the BPI before bringing in foreign rice stocks.
An SPSIC would certify that an inbound shipment is safe for human and animal consumption and would not bring in any pests that could be detrimental to the local agriculture sector.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently said that the Philippines’s imported rice purchases will hit 4.7 MMT this year or 1 MMT higher than the 3.61 MMT it imported last year.
The agency had adjusted upwards its rice imports forecast for the Philippines this year from the initial 4.6 MMT.
“Total imports are estimated higher on increases for Malaysia, the Philippines, and Cameroon,” the USDA report read.
Meanwhile, rice importers may go slow on importing rice while waiting for the ruling on the legality of Executive Order 62, according to Roehlano Briones, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
This was after agricultural groups earlier asked the Supreme Court to immediately issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a status quo ante order as provisional relief against the implementation of the order.
“[The impact if a TRO were issued against EO 62] depends on [how] quickly SC will rule to stay the EO. If quickly, then status quo,” Briones told the BusinessMirror via SMS.
“The bigger question is legality. Importers may slow down importing while waiting for a ruling on the legality of the EO,” he added.
Source: Business Mirror
