MANILA (AsiaNews): The Philippines is currently facing an exceptional heat wave reportedly linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has resulted in an unusual increase in the cost of food staples. Despite being the harvest season, the price of rice has risen to 52 pesos per kilo.
In response, on April 18, the president, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., issued Administrative Order 20, urging relevant departments to reduce customs barriers to food imports in order to address the soaring prices of food products like rice.
Ensuring that all members of the population have access to basic food items is crucial for establishing the credibility of presidential policies. During his presidential campaign in 2022 and beyond, Marcos Jr. made repeated promises to reduce the cost of rice to 20 pesos per kilo [cf: Inquirer, PhilStar, SCMP, Reuters, YouTube, Rappler].
By eliminating non-tariff barriers, such as quotas, import licensing and regulations designed to protect local producers, the order will allow agricultural products to be imported more quickly.
These steps should have been implemented earlier and failure to act sooner has weighed on imports and ultimately consumers.
“It is imperative to further streamline administrative procedures to foster transparency and predictability of policies on the importation of agricultural products to help ensure food security, maintain sufficient supply of agricultural goods in the domestic market, and improve local production,” Marcos said.
The measure also includes new rules concerning faster import of other agricultural products, like sugar, as well as fish products.
According to the Department of Agriculture, the retail price of rice rose on the third and fourth week of April by between one and two pesos per kilo, at a time when prices tend to drop.
The price of locally produced rice has come to match that of imported rice or even exceeded it.
