According to NEDA, reducing tariffs on rice imports should not cause a decrease in farmgate prices.

THE proposed tariff

NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan stated that the decrease in rice imports should not have an effect on the farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice).

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It is important to ensure that farmgate prices do not decrease. The well-being of farmers should be safeguarded,” he stated in an interview with BusinessWorld during the national budget discussions at the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“Any proposal to reduce tariff

We need to address this specific problem by finding a balance between different interests. The most important thing is to protect farmers from a decrease in their farmgate prices,” he explained.

The Department of Finance has suggested a temporary reduction of the 35% tariffs on rice for the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and MFN (Most Favored Nation).ff

The rates will be reduced to a zero percent interest rate for amounts up to 10%.

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The percentage for Tariq is c.ff

Mr. Balisacan stated that it is premature to reveal any information at this time.

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The idea of cutting would not be taken into account if oil prices were not high.

He stated in a combination of English and Filipino that if the cost of oil was not increasing significantly, there would be no talk of reducing tariffs.

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On Monday, the price of gasoline increased by P2 per liter, diesel increased by P2.50 per liter, and kerosene increased by P2 per liter due to an increase by rms.

The cost of fuel has increased by P11.85 per liter for gasoline, P17.30 per liter for diesel, and P15.94 per liter for kerosene since the second week of July.

“Once more, the situation is that the cost of oil is increasing, and it has risen significantly in the past few months. We aim to avoid this having a negative impact on our domestic economy, as our inflation rate remains high, particularly for rice,” stated Mr. Balisacan.

The rate of inflation in August was higher than expected at 5.3%, compared to 4.7% in July, resulting in a year-to-date average of 6.6%. This exceeded the central bank’s initial forecast of 5.6% for the entire year.

The price of rice increased significantly from 4.2% in July to 8.7% in August due to limited availability.

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It is challenging to manage inflation, therefore we are researching it,” he stated.

In the meantime, Mr. Balisacan expressed approval of the increase in the buying price of rice.

He stated that the rise in farm prices was long awaited as it had been lower than the current market price, making it a positive development.

On Monday, the National Food Authority Council agreed to a revised range of buying prices for dry palay at P19-P23 per kilogram and for wet palay at P16 to P19 per kilogram.

According to the statistics agency in the area, the typical cost of palay at the farm level rose by 9.4% compared to last year, reaching P19.23 per kilogram in June.

An executive order was issued this month to combat increasing prices, capping the cost of regular milled rice at P41 per kilo and well-milled rice at P45 per kilo. – Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson