FANCY RICE IMPORT SCHEME
UNCOVERED, ENDED BY NFAC
By Manny Piñol
The importation of fancy rice, which includes the Jasmine variety from Thailand sold in the market for as much as P60 per kilo, has been stopped by the National Food Authority Council (NFAC).
Acting on a recommendation which I submitted during last week’s meeting, the NFA Council has approved a resolution setting as policy that only 25% Broken Rice classification will be imported by both government and private traders.
Imported rice has three classifications, namely 25% Broken, 15% Broken and 5% Broken or the Premium or Fancy Rice.
Many unscrupulous importers declare their imports as 25% to enjoy lower tariff valuations while actually bringing in Fancy and Premium Rice sold at very high prices.
While the NFA brings in 25% to 15% Broken sold in the market at P27 and P32 per kilo, most private importers bring in Fancy Rice which they sell at P55 to P60 per kilo.
In the NFAC meeting which I presided for the first time Monday last week, I submitted the observation that allowing private importers to bring in fancy rice and selling this at P55 to P60 per kilo, defeats the very purpose why government allows importation.
I said that there are two reasons why government allows importation:
1. To fill up the 7% shortfall in local rice production which is estimated at 800,000 to 1-million metric tons every year;
2. To stabilize the price of rice in the market because imported rice is supposed to be cheaper than locally produced rice.
In spite of the Importation of about 800,000 metric tons of rice by the private traders, the price of rice in the market has not gone down.
During the surprise inspection I made of private warehouses in Bulacan last month, I saw imported Premium Rice and Glutinous Rice ( Malagkit) in the hundreds of thousands of bags.
An actual market inspection I made a day after the NFA was returned to the DA confirmed my belief that the private rice importation program was not helping in bringing down the price of commercial rice in the market.
By importing Premium Rice and selling this at P55 to P60, the importers were making a killing while at the same time pushing prices of rice up.
This also gave added pressure on the NFA rice stock because it is what most consumers could afford.
With this new policy now, succeeding importation by the private sector will involve 25% Broken Rice which could be sold for as low as P38 per kilo.
Any Imported Fancy Rice sold in the market after the effectivity of this new policy would be considered smuggled rice and subject to seizure and confiscation.
The supply of fancy or premium rice in the market will now be done by the Filipino rice farmers with Dinorado, Milagrosa, Jasponica, RC 160, Heirloom Rice and other indigenous rice varieties.
(Photos show imported premium rice and glutinous rice in several warehouses which I visited in Bulacan recently. Photos by Bong Piñol)
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