The Philippines will continue to rely heavily on imported food until 2030, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a joint report they released last week (See, “PHL reliance on food imports seen to stay high until 2030–report,” in the BusinessMirror, July 6, 2021). OECD and FAO projected that the Philippines will increase its purchases of rice, pork and poultry to meet the expected increase in demand of a growing population. The import volume, they said, would depend largely on the initiatives that the Philippines would put in place to transform its food systems, as well as the factors beyond its control such as climate change.
The report noted that the country’s rice consumption per capita is expected to increase to 129 kilograms per person by 2030 from an annual average estimate of 120.3 kg per capita between 2018 and 2020. Rice consumption was forecast to go up to 18.249 million metric tons by 2030, 19.81 percent higher than the annual average consumption of 15.232 MMT between 2018 and 2020. While OECD-FAO projected that imports will increase to 3.459 MMT by 2030, this would largely depend on the outcome of the government’s programs to boost rice production using the tariffs collected from imports.
Many experts have said before that self-sufficiency in rice—the country’s staple food—is an expensive proposition. There is basis for this as attested by the size of investments made by the government over the years to produce rice. The rice sector usually corners the bulk of the Department of Agriculture’s annual budget, and a chunk of the amount goes to the construction and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities, particularly in rainfed areas.
Now that the government can tap tariffs collected from rice imports, it is time for policy-makers to bankroll initiatives that will strengthen other agricultural subsectors and allow the Philippines to increase its food exports (See, “Govt rice tariff collections rise to P5.67B in 4 months,” in the BusinessMirror, May 12, 2021). Increasing local supply of certain foodstuff like poultry would fill domestic demand and benefit local producers. Also, the joint OECD-FAO report indicated that the world’s need for food presents trade opportunities for countries like the Philippines, particularly if trade barriers are reduced or removed altogether.
Asean members like Indonesia and Malaysia have been benefiting from their agricultural exports, such as coffee beans and palm oil. Vietnam is a major rice exporter, while Thailand has earned the enviable distinction of being the food kitchen of the world. Experts have been urging the government to follow the lead of our Southeast Asian neighbors, but the Philippines remains unable to diversify its food exports.
Propping up the domestic production of key commodities that the country needs, including products that can bring in export receipts, would go a long way to enabling the Philippines to wipe out hunger and poverty. This strategy would not just feed millions of Filipino families but also allow the government to support other industries and meet all the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.