THE Philippines started and ended the previous decade as the world’s top rice importer, with the country formally overtaking China as the top buyer of the staple last year, based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Data from the USDA showed that the Philippines’s rice imports in 2019 rose to an all-time high of 3.2 million metric tons (MMT), making the country the top buyer of imported rice last year.
In its first monthly forecast report, the USDA revealed that the Philippines has “soared to become the top global importer” of rice as its total purchases last year surpassed China’s 2.4 MMT. China has been the world’s top rice importer since 2013.
With the USDA’s latest report, the Philippines has officially surpassed its previous record of 2.5 MMT in 2008, the height of the global rice price crisis. The Philippines was also the top rice importer that same year.
The last time the Philippines was regarded as the world’s top buyer of rice was in 2010, when it imported 2.4 MMT, historical USDA data showed.
The latest USDA figures showed the Philippines may still be the world’s top importer of rice this year, as total volume is projected to reach 2.7 MMT, higher than China’s estimated imports of 2.3 MMT.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier said the country’s total rice imports last year reached 3 MMT following the enactment of the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law, which eased the requirements for importing rice.
The surge in imports last year resulted in the decline of the country’s rice self-sufficiency rate, or adequacy level, to its lowest in 10 years to 85 percent, according to the DA.
Despite this, President Duterte personally appealed to farmers to give the RTL a chance, citing its long-term economic benefits. The law took effect on March 5, 2019.