THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) collected P15.494 billion in revenue from 2.38 million metric tons (MT) of rice imports last year, down 28% the Finance department said in a statement Sunday.
It said the collections in 2019, the first year the Rice Tariffication Law was in force, totaled P21.59 billion on volume of 3.13 million MT, down 24%.
In December, rice tariffs increased 51.7% year on year to P885.05 million.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero said the valuations arrived at for rice imports increased by 7% to P20,320 per MT in 2020.
The Rice Tariffication Law, or Republic Act 11203, sets aside P10 billion a year for use by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, to support farm mechanization and other measures enabling farmers to better compete against imports.
The law removed restrictions on rice imports by private entities, which must pay a tariff of 35% on Southeast Asian. — Beatrice M. Laforga
