The country’s rice imports this year could decline by 10 percent to a four-year low of 2.2 million metric tons (MMT) on the back of rising domestic harvest, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
In its latest monthly global grain market report, the USDA revised downward its import forecast for the Philippines to 2.2 MMT from 2.3 MMT earlier estimate.
The USDA slashed its import forecast for the Philippines as it estimates higher milled rice output for 2021.
The USDA said domestic milled rice production this year could reach a three-year high of 12.2 MMT.
The volume was 1.6 percent higher than the USDA’s earlier production estimate of 12 MMT last January.
The USDA kept its rice consumption and residual forecast for the Philippines this year at a record-high 14.4 MMT.
The USDA revised upward its full-year rice import estimate for China in 2020 to 2.9 MMT from 2.3 MMT.
With the upward revision, China has overtaken the Philippines last year as the biggest buyer of rice in the global market, based on USDA data.
The Philippines imported about 2.45 MMT of rice last year, according to the USDA.
The Philippines became the largest buyer of rice in the global market in 2019 after it enacted a law that deregulated its rice industry and eased restrictions on importation.
The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) said it targets to increase the country’s unhusked rice output to a new record-high of 20.4 MMT from last year’s 19.44 MMT.
If the production target is realized, the country will achieve a 95 percent self-sufficiency level in rice, according to the DA.
The DA had earlier filed a petition before the Tariff Commission to reduce the most favored nation (MFN) rates on rice imports to 35 percent from the current 40 percent (in-quota) and 50 percent (out-quota) levels.
The tariff reduction measure is supported by the Department of Finance. The DA and the DOF said the reduction in tariff would result in more available cheaper rice sources for the Philippines as export prices in Thailand and Vietnam continue to rise.
The DA and the DOF are looking at South Asian countries as alternative suppliers to the country’s staple supply. The DOF noted that rice export prices in India are now 30 percent cheaper than their counterparts in Vietnam and Thailand.
At least 90 percent of the country’s rice imports come from Vietnam and Thailand.