NEDA defends Rice Tariffication Law

The chief of Socioeconomic Planning and Finance defended the historic Rice Tariffication Law enacted during the Duterte administration, despite presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s intention to modify it.

Karl Kendrick Chua, the chief of Socioeconomic Planning and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the RTL is “the best model that we have to help both farmers and consumers.”

“By removing quantitative restrictions, we can address both the needs of consumers for a lower retail price of rice and use the tariff revenues to fund the RCEF and provide even more assistance to farmers with excess tariff revenues,” Chua said.

The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) was established by Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, which took effect on March 5, 2019, and replaced quantitative limits on imported rice with tariffs of 35 percent to 40%.

The RCEF is a P10 billion fund that will be used to fund agricultural mechanization, seed development, propagation and promotion, credit assistance, and extension activities during the next six years or until 2024.

NEDA defends Rice Tariffication Law

Meanwhile, rice import tariff collections that exceed the P10 billion set aside for RCFEF will be appropriated by Congress the following year for Rice Farmer Financial Assistance (RFFA), which includes direct financial assistance to rice farmers, and agricultural rice land titling, expanded crop insurance, and crop diversification.

“Last year, we collected P18.9 billion from rice tariff collections. We gave all that back to rice farmers. Those calling for the removal of the RTL risk taking away what we are giving to farmers to improve their productivity. Further lowering the price of rice for all Filipinos is really possible if we help farmers improve productivity. That is exactly what the RTL is doing by providing them with mechanization, seeds, and other support,” Chua said.

Marcos reintroduced his proposal to change the Rice Tariffication Law in April, which allows for unrestricted rice imports provided private merchants obtain a phytosanitary permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry and pay the 35 percent duty for shipments from Southeast Asian countries.