Rice-import duties up 58% in January

Duties collected from rice imports grew to P2.04 billion in the first month of 2021, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) reported on Friday.

The amount was a 58-percent increase from the P1.29 billion raked in the same month last year.

In a statement, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero cited preliminary data showing that the January figure came from 287,957 metric tons (MT) of imported rice, up 29 percent year-on-year from the 223,278 MT shipped into the country.

Based on the bureau’s electronic-to-mobile (e2M) system, Guerrero said that year-on-year, the average valuation of rice imports improved by 11.5 percent to P20,262/MT from P18,177/MT.

The statement comes after Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd directed the BoC to check private traders for possible undervaluation of their rice imports.

Improvements to help ensure the proper classification, quantity and weight of rice stocks brought into the country under Republic Act 11203, or the “Rice Tariffication Law” (RTL), led to the average value rising, thus gathering more duties — and revenues — for the government.

These gathered duties go to the annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). The money from this fund will be used for the distribution of seeds, fertilizers and farm machineries; and cheap credit and skills training programs on farm mechanization and modern farming techniques for Filipino farmers.

Annual tariff revenues from rice imports in excess of P10 billion shall be earmarked by Congress and included in the national budget of the following year for financial assistance for palay (unmilled rice) farmers, titling agricultural lands, an expanded crop insurance program on rice and crop diversification.