Rice tariffication to start March 3 – NFA Council
Credit to Author: MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT| Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2019 16:30:25 +0000
The newly-signed Rice Tariffication Act will take effect March 3, the Finance department announced on Monday, with duties replacing quantitative restrictions that had limited imports of the staple.
The National Food Authority (NFA) Council earlier in the day approved the implementation of a tariffied regime to further slash rice prices and bring down living costs, the department said in a statement.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11203 last Friday, the last possible day he could do so or veto the measure before it lapsed into law amid concerns raised by farmers and even the Agriculture department.
“Our objective in liberalizing rice imports is to bring down the costs of the staple. Our price is 50 percent higher than the others, including Singapore, which does not produce rice,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd was quoted as having said during the NFA Council meeting.
“Will it take us 180 days to effect a reduction in the cost of living our the people?,” he added.
A 35-percent tariff will be implemented for rice bought from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) neighbors regardless of quantity, Finance Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito Lambino 2nd explained.
A higher 40 percent tariff, meanwhile, will be slapped on rice imports within the minimum access volume (MAV) of 350,000 metric tons (MT) and go up to 180 percent for out-quota shipments sourced from non-Asean countries.
The NFA Council also approved the transfer of the grains agency’s functions to the Department of Agriculture (DA), as provided under the law, beginning March 3.
The NFA was told to submit a restructuring plan within 30 days, instead of its initial proposal of 180 days, and Dominguez also said that the transfer of the Food Development Center to the Agriculture department could also be done much shorter than the NFA-proposed 60 days.
He also recommended that the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) determine what funds can be freed up as a result of the NFA restructuring to ensure that farmers receive the support they need while the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund mandated by the law is still being set up.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez supported the immediate shift to a tariffied regime and also said that this would be facilitated via the NFA reorganization being done separately, the Finance department said.
It noted that Dominguez presided over the NFA Council meeting as endorsed by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who is the policymaking body’s chairman.
Piñol, who had warned of the “death of the rice industry” if the law was implemented without support measures for farmers in place, was said to be unavailable for the meeting.
In attendance were Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo, Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon, Monetary Board member Bruce Tolentino, and representatives from the NFA, NEDA, Land Bank of the Philippines, DA, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
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