The government has approved the importation of over 1.4 million metric tons (MMT) of rice after it issued over 1,800 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-ICs) to about 145 grain retailers, traders, importers and farmers organizations.
Latest Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed that as of February 29, it has issued 1,877 SPS-ICs to eligible rice importers, covering the importation of 1.472 MMT.
Some 90 grain traders, importers, retailers, corporations and private firms accounted for the bulk of the approved importation as they secured 1,258 SPS-ICs for a total applied volume of 928,005.268 MT, BPI data showed.
Around 55 farmers’ organizations, including cooperatives and irrigators’ associations, were issued with 619 SPS-ICs for an approved importation of 544,251.41 MT of rice.
Commodities trader Arvin International Marketing Inc. topped the list as it was able to get 45 SPS-IC for its applied rice import volume of 57,075 MT followed by Mindanao Agriplus Corp. with 55,510 MT (99 SPS-ICs), BPI data showed.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) previously said that it has been more stringent in issuing SPS-ICs, particularly to farmers groups, to weed out entities, such as cooperatives that are being used as “dummies” by unscrupulous rice traders and importers.
The DA also pronounced recently that it will void all existing unused SPS-ICs for rice imports that were issued last year to curb import arrivals this harvest season.
In a separate data released by the BPI, about 105 rice importers used 480 SPS-ICs to bring in 320,044.555 MT of staple during the January-to-February period.
This now brings the total volume of rice imported since rice trade liberalization (RTL) law took effect on March 5, 2019 to nearly 2.177 MMT, according to BPI data.
During the two-month period, Integrated Farmers Producers Cooperative imported the most rice at 20,634.885 followed by Arvin International Marketing Inc. at 20,395.020 MT, BPI data showed.
In a recent report, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said strong demand from Malaysian and Filipino rice importers drove the export price of Vietnamese 5-percent broken rice in February to increase by 4.7 percent to $362 per MT from $346 per MT in January.
“February quotations of Vietnamese 5-percent broken rice climbed 4.7 percent over January values to their highest level since December 2018,” it said in its March 2020 FAO Rice Price Update report.
“Strong demand from Malaysian and Filipino buyers spurred the increase, coming at a time of tight availabilities as the 2020 winter-spring harvest was just getting started,” it added.
Manila is targeting to maintain imports at around 1.6 MMT—the estimated shortfall in local output—to stabilize the farm-gate price of the staple.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the country’s rice production is capable of supplying only 85 percent to 87 percent of the requirements of Filipino consumers.
“That’s the direction [to keep imports at that level]. Managing importation and enhancing local productivity equals better opportunity for rice farmers, and they are more productive and competitive and they have higher income,” Dar told reporters in an interview at the sidelines of the government’s celebration of the anniversary of the RTL law last March 5.