Smarter News Now
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact Us
  • Email Whitelisting
No Result
View All Result
  • Top News
  • Economy News
  • Forex News
  • Investing News
  • Stock News
  • Politics News
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Top News
  • Economy News
  • Forex News
  • Investing News
  • Stock News
  • Politics News
  • Editor’s Pick
No Result
View All Result
Smarter News Now
No Result
View All Result
Home Investing News

Former DA chief says rice law made smuggling easier

by
July 12, 2022
in Investing News
0
Former DA chief says rice law made smuggling easier
0
SHARES
22
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
REUTERS

THE Rice Tariffication Law must be amended to re-establish the role of the National Food Authority (NFA) as industry regulator, after the liberalization of imports opened the doors to rampant smuggling of the staple grain, former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said.

“We don’t need to repeal the law. We only need to amend it. Number one, we need to bring back the regulatory and supervisory powers of the NFA over the rice industry,” Mr. Piñol said on One News.

“While the government was able to collect a lot from tariffs, there is so much technical smuggling. No one is supervising what kind of rice is being brought in,” he added.

Signed in 2019, the law, also known as Republic Act No. 11203, allowed private parties to freely import the grain, on which they paid tariffs of 35% on shipments originating from Southeast Asia. It also reduced the role of the NFA, formerly the primary importer of rice via government-to-government deals, to maintaining emergency rice stocks.

The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and the new Congress to review the law and propose amendments as necessary.

“Officials of the Department of Finance (DoF) have been insisting that law made rice more affordable by cutting the retail price by P7 per kilo, from its alleged peak of P46 per kilo during the rice crisis in 2018,” the FFF has said.

“These figures were deceptive because they compared current rice prices to their levels in 2018, when prices were abnormally high due to the rice crisis,” it added.

FFF National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said that although the law allowed the entry of cheaper imported rice, the savings were mostly captured by importers and traders and were not passed on to consumers.

“Also, most of the imports were for premium rice grades for sale to well-off consumers, not the more affordable grades that NFA used to import for the poor. That is why poor consumers today are actually paying almost the same as in 2016 and 2017. To top it off, the P27 per kilo rice that the NFA used to distribute has disappeared from the market,” he added.

ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said that he hopes the law is retained.

“The law was an important legislation passed by the previous administration and was instrumental in helping lower prices in the Philippines. Part of the law was the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which funds the improvement of domestic rice production,” he said in an e-mail.

“Given the short-term benefits, like lower rice prices, and medium-term benefits, which is improved rice production domestically, we hope that the law will not be touched,” he added.

Mr. Piñol added that he supported the decision of Mr. Marcos to take over the Department of Agriculture (DA) which would “get things going.”

“I really believe that if Mr. Marcos would like agriculture to develop and flourish during his term, he should hold on to that position until the end of his term,” he said. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

ShareTweetPin

Related Posts

Senate grills Rodriguez on approval procedures for sugar import order
Investing News

Senate grills Rodriguez on approval procedures for sugar import order

August 23, 2022
Trade dep’t expecting sugar price monitoring report by Friday
Investing News

Trade dep’t expecting sugar price monitoring report by Friday

August 23, 2022
Fisherfolk seek halt to reclamation on municipal fisheries
Investing News

Fisherfolk seek halt to reclamation on municipal fisheries

August 23, 2022
Supreme Court rules petitioners have no standing in PDS ‘monopoly’ case
Investing News

Supreme Court rules petitioners have no standing in PDS ‘monopoly’ case

August 23, 2022
ERC signals planned overhaul of regulatory practices via benchmarking exercise with regional counterparts
Investing News

ERC signals planned overhaul of regulatory practices via benchmarking exercise with regional counterparts

August 23, 2022
Malaysian trade official urges PHL to sign up for RCEP  
Investing News

Malaysian trade official urges PHL to sign up for RCEP  

August 23, 2022
Next Post
Rising prices top concern among Filipinos — SWS

Rising prices top concern among Filipinos — SWS

Get the daily email that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained, for free.
Email Address *
Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!
 

Recommended

Getting to Know you: Benjamin Sparks, Commercial Construction Consultant

Getting to Know you: Benjamin Sparks, Commercial Construction Consultant

July 28, 2022
Effective Tips To Make High Compelling Landing Pages To Attract More Viewers

Effective Tips To Make High Compelling Landing Pages To Attract More Viewers

July 5, 2022
3 companies invest P468M for banana plantation in former Maguindanao conflict zone

3 companies invest P468M for banana plantation in former Maguindanao conflict zone

August 9, 2022
Golden MV Holdings, Inc. to hold annual meeting of stockholders on July 15

Golden MV Holdings, Inc. to hold annual meeting of stockholders on July 15

June 22, 2022
Tax violations and responsible corporate officers and employees

Tax violations and responsible corporate officers and employees

June 15, 2022
Gatchalian calls debt management higher priority than fuel excise freeze

Gatchalian calls debt management higher priority than fuel excise freeze

June 26, 2022
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact Us
  • Email Whitelisting

Copyright © 2022 SmarterNewsNow.
All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer: SmarterNewsNow.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice.
The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Email Whitelisting
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Thank You

Copyright © 2020 SmarterNewsNow. All Rights Reserved.