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GMA Network
4 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
DA recommends keeping 15% tariff on imported rice
Workers at the National Food Authority (NFA) warehouse in Quezon City stack sacks of rice that arrived from Vietnam, June 27, 2018. GMA News file photo The Department of Agriculture (DA) has recommended retaining the 15% tariff on imported rice to help mitigate the effects of inflation in local prices. In a public briefing on Wednesday, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said that they aim on lowering the effects of inflation throughout the agricultural industry. 'Napakaimportante yan sa buong ekonomiya ng ating bansa, at masigurado din natin na maging tuloy-tuloy ang mga programa natin na mas mababang presyo ng bilihin di lamang ng bigas kundi iba pang agricultural commodities,' said de Mesa. (It is very important to the economy of the entire country, and we should ensure that our programs to lower the prices of commodities will continue, not just rice but other agricultural commodities.) He further said that the majority of every P100 that poor Filipino families spend were used to purchase rice. 'Mga 25% kasi ng bigas na kino-consume natin ay imported. So, kung mapapanatili natin na mababa ang taripa at 15%, mas masisigurado natin na yung pangkalahatang presyo ng bigas ay mas magiging matatag at hindi makakaapekto sa price spikes kung magkakaroon man. Yung inflation overall natin, mapapanatili nating mababa kung mananatiling mababa presyo ng bigas,' he added. (About 25% of the rice we consume is imported. So, if we keep the tariff low at 15%, we can better ensure that the overall price of rice will remain stable and won't affect any price spikes. We can keep or overall inflation lower if we keep the price of rice low.) DA said that they consider the price of rice in international markets, exchange rates, logistics costs from the port of origin, and productivity in the country when considering rice tariffs. 'Napakaimportante lalo na sa panahon ng lean months, ay masigurado natin na yung imported na bigas ay maganda ang presyuhan para di maapektuhan din yung presyo ng local na supply natin. Yung timing is really important to make sure natin na mapapanatili natin na matatag ang presyuhan ng bigas,' he said. (It is very important, especially in the lean months, that we ensure that the price of important rice will not affect the price of our local supply. The timing is really important to make sure that we keep rice pricing stable.) Assistance programs by the government, such as the implementation of the P20-per-kilo rice programs, continue regardless of the tariffs. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. ordered the lowering of imported rice tariffs from 35% to 15% on June 20, 2024. The decision faced backlash from several farmers' groups, who filed a petition for certiorari to declare the lowering of tariffs 'unconstitutional' and nullify the order. In December 2024, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) also said that the lowered tariffs did not affect or lower the price of imported rice. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
17-05-2025
- Health
- GMA Network
DA: It will take 2-3 years before local hog population returns to pre-ASF levels
The controlled vaccination of hogs is ongoing, the Agriculture Department says. It will take another two to three years before the Philippines' swine population returns to its pre-African swine fever (ASF) levels, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB on Saturday, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said that the Agriculture Department is already seeing signs of recovery in the local hog industry. 'Tatagal ito ng two to three years,' de Mesa said. (This will last for two to three years.) The DA official said the controlled vaccination of hogs is ongoing and 'naging maganda ang resulta sa mga lugar na nagkaroon ng bakuna (the results were favorable in areas where vaccination was made available).' The DA is now awaiting the approval of the FDA for its clearance for the commercial rollout of the ASF vaccine, possibly later this year, before implementing an aggressive repopulation plan that should bring back domestic production to pre-ASF levels by 2028. 'Naghihintay na lang tayo ng kumpirmasyon mula sa FDA (Food and Drug Administration) para sa commercial release,' he said. (We are just waiting for the confirmation from FDA for its commercial release.) Since the first outbreak in 2019, the national hog inventory has declined from approximately 13 million heads to less than nine million heads. The vaccine will significantly enhance the likelihood of success for the repopulation program, according to the DA. —KG, GMA Integrated News
