Several regional experts have recently shared their diverse thoughts on the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) in a forum organized by Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
The RTL was recently passed with the purpose of lifting existing quantitative import restrictions on rice.
With the current influx of imported rice and the consequent plunge in domestic farmgate prices, the RTL has amassed mixed reactions from various stakeholders of the local rice industry, raising the question as to whether it is indeed beneficial for the Philippine rice industry.
Nonetheless, the current push for the establishment of an ASEAN common market has steered regional strategies toward promoting and strengthening intra-ASEAN trade and market integration.
The SEARCA forum sought to assess the policy implications on regional trade, rice reserves, food security, agriculture and rural development, and rice farmers' income and competitiveness in relation to the implementation of the RTL.
SEARCA Director Glenn B. Gregorio said that the medium by which people are informed about the RTL is likewise of crucial importance to ensure that stakeholders are given the proper information about the law.
Gregorio also emphasized the need to discuss and determine the "right price and the right rice."
For his part, Roehlano M. Briones, Senior Research Fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), provided an overview of the immediate aftermath and potential long-term impact of rice industry liberalization in the Philippines.
He said that despite the immediate decline in farmgate and retail prices of rice, the implementation of the RTL or liberalization of the industry, in the long-term, can benefit the society as a whole.
In terms of regional trade, Ramon L. Clarete, Professor at the UP School of Economics (UPSE), said "with the liberalization of rice import policies in the Philippines, we can possibly experience an increase of around 10 percent in rice imports for local consumption."
He explained that the expected boost in productivity and efficiency in rice farming (i.e., milling and logistics) will encourage modernization and farm aggregation as part of the productivity effect of import liberalization.
A U-shaped "love-hate relationship" is how Jose Ma. Luis P. Montesclaros described food security in Southeast Asia.
The associate research fellow from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore claimed that climate change and the failure of rice production systems to upgrade or adapt has caused a sudden reversal of the state of undernourishment in the region.
In addition, he cited the lack of exposure to trade competition in markets, caused by quantitative restrictions such as the import quotas, has prevented rice production systems to upgrade and adapt.
Montesclaros explained that for the rest of the region, the Philippines' opening up to more rice imports may cause international demand to expand faster than supply (short or medium-run), harming the growing number of urban consumers in rice-importing and -exporting countries.
Meanwhile, the RTL's implications on regional rice reserves were discussed by Jansinee Kankaew, Head of Implementation of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserves (APTERR) Secretariat.
According to Kankaew, the RTL has significantly affected the operations of the National Food Authority (NFA), which is APTERR's counterpart in the Philippines.
With NFA losing its importing capacity, the implementation of the APTERR Tier 1 Programme between the Philippines and Japan might be at risk.