Stakeholders want QR on rice extended

stakeholders in the rice sector, particularly the poor and small rice farmers, demand that the government proceed with the negotiation to extend the import restrictions on rice.

"Before the government talks about the tarification of rice, measures should be in place to ensure the competitiveness of the local rice industry at the shortest time possible," Hazel Tanchuling, Rice Watch and Action Coordinator, said.

"As we looked into the 2017 budget, this is not reflected in the allocation of their programs. The Department of Agriculture direly needs to enhance its efforts as local rice production even decreased to only 17.6 million metric tons (MMT) in 2016 from 18.9 MMT in 2014 and 18.1 MMT in 2015," she added.

To recall, it is only the Department of Agriculture (DA) that believes the country needs at least two more years to be prepared for the liberalization of rice importation in the country.

Quantitative Restriction (QR) is the limit to the volume of goods traded by a country. QR on rice, for instance, protects local farmers from foreign rice imports by imposing a high 35percent tariff rate on them after hitting certain shipment limit.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) granted the Philippines with an initial exemption from the lifting of QR on rice because of its highly sensitive nature but the deadline for the country's QR has already been extended twice, with the second extension expiring in June of this year.

The economic team of President Rodrigo Duterte, including National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Finance (DOF), believe that the country should no longer ask for another QR extension. (MBM)