Rice import proposal a ‘death trap’
A PROPOSAL calling for a shift to high-value crop production could lead to the death of the domestic rice industry, a Cabinet official said on Thursday.
“[A proposed] policy to just rely on imported rice and ask our rice farmers to diversify to other crops is a death trap.” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a statement.
“This is a shortsighted view which will kill the rice industry and drive away farmers from the rice fields,” he added.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday said the shift would be “the most efficient economic arrangement” and also pressure the agriculture sector to be more competitive.
Earnings from high-value produce are much higher than traditional crops such as rice, which the Philippines is unable to produce in sufficient quantities to meet domestic needs.
Piñol, however, said that relying purely on purchases from neighboring rice produces such as Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia also carried risks given weather challenges and rising demand elsewhere.
“Even if we have the money to buy, there would be no available rice supply in the world market and assuming that there would be available supply, could we outbid China in buying all the remaining rice stocks?,” he asked.
“The sad truth is that we are not the only country with a growing population. Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and India, which are all rice exporting countries now, also have growing population. Just like us, their farming areas are not expanding and will in fact shrink because of the sprouting of human settlements,” Piñol added.
“It is as certain as the sun will rise tomorrow that 10 years from now, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and India will no longer be able to export the same volume of rice that they ship out today.”
At current production levels, the Philippines still needs to import about 600,000 to 800,000 metric tons of rice to satisfy domestic consumption and Piñol believes that the government should only allow the importation of rice for the purpose of “fill[ing] up the supply shortfall.”