The
Luzon A cluster moved to extend the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice for
another two years subject to the impending expiration of the waiver on the
special treatment on rice in 2017.
Key
rice industry players from the government, private sector, and other concerned
organizations formulated unified inputs that can help the government in coming
up with its position on the expiration of the waiver during the first leg of cluster-wide
consultation on rice QR on September 22, 2016 at Hotel Stotsenberg, Angeles
City, Pampanga.
Representatives
from the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Offices (DA RFOs), local
government units, rice farmer organizations, business sector (including
traders/millers, seed growers, and input suppliers), Regional and Provincial
Agriculture and Fishery Councils (RAFCs/ PAFCs), and civil society
organizations engaged in rice industry development participated in the said
event.
The cluster-wide consultation was undertaken by the DA through Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF), Policy Research Program (PRS) and National Rice Program to present the policy options that the government has on the expiration of the waiver on the special treatment on rice and to discuss the possible consequences that may arise from the government’s policy choices.
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Participants listen
attentively as Mr. Marlito Cabuños of Policy Research Service presents the
government’s policy options (Photos
courtesy of PDCD)
The
first option is to secure another waiver while the second option is to tariffy.
Should
the government wished to take the first option, it will provide concessions in
exchange for another QR extension.
“If
tariffication will be the chosen option, the tariffs that will be collected
from the imports should be earmarked to serve as additional funding support to
the programs of the government to help the rice farmers to increase their
competitiveness,” one of the panelists suggested during the open forum.
According
to Cabuños, if tariffication will be selected, there are three more choices
that the government need to consider. First, tariffy based on the formula:
higher internal price, lower external price = high tariff equivalent; second, tariffication
plus upward adjustment of tariff equivalent; and third, tariffy plus negotiate
with ASEAN member states.
The discussions were also focused on how our country can
produce products with the same quality as the competitors but less expensive.
Among the recommendations were increase rice yield by using
hybrid rice, reduce production cost especially labor by increasing
mechanization level, reduce marketing cost and margin, increase efficiency of
rice mills by increasing capacity utilization, reduce transport cost by
improving transport networks and reduce marketing layers to minimize margins by
having wholesale markets.
The
second leg of the cluster-wide consultation will be held on Hotel Rembrandt, Quezon
City on September 28, 2016.
