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The Department of Agriculture formed a technical working group to manage rice import policy
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TWG tasked to recommend data-driven import volumes, timing, and distribution
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Initial import decisions for May to be kept simple, with more complex mechanisms eyed later
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Import participation may be linked to performance and purchases from local farmers
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DA to tighten reporting requirements on rice stocks to improve transparency
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has created a technical working group (TWG) on rice importation as it moves toward a more data-driven and strategically managed approach to balancing supply, prices and farmer protection.
The initiative ordered by Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. comes as the DA works to finalize rice import policies for May while laying the groundwork for a more structured system later in the year.
Speaking during a recent meeting with industry stakeholders and DA officials, Tiu Laurel stressed the need for urgency and discipline in the policy-making process. “We have to work fast. It’s already February,” he said as quoted in a press statement, instructing the TWG to meet weekly and submit policy recommendations within weeks.
The TWG will include representatives from the DA Office of the Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development, Food Terminal Inc., the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM) and the Philippine Rice Importers Association, among others.
The group is tasked with strengthening strategic oversight of rice importation through transparent and evidence-based decision-making.
Instead of ad hoc approvals, the TWG will focus on a license-based system tied to performance, guided by data on regional supply deficits, buffer stocks and real-time inventory levels.
The immediate objective is to ensure sufficient imported rice enters the market to temper prices without disrupting local harvests.
READ: Philippine rice imports seen falling below 4MT in 2026
Tiu Laurel noted that import volumes for May will initially remain “simple,” but said more complex mechanisms are being considered later in the year, potentially after the wet season. These include proposals to link import participation to purchases of palay from local farmers.
The TWG is also expected to refine a two-layer system aimed at balancing equity and efficiency by determining not only the volume of rice to be imported, but also the timing and destination of shipments at the provincial and regional levels.
READ: Bataan port added to entry points for milled rice imports
Future import volumes and schedules will be guided by data for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and could eventually be priced on a per-province basis, Tiu Laurel said.
On transparency, the DA plans to tighten reporting requirements for rice stocks, warning that traders and warehouse operators who fail to submit accurate data risk losing their import registration. With only a fraction of registered warehouses currently complying, Tiu Laurel cautioned that “no data” would mean “no import participation.”
The DA said the new framework is intended to protect farmers by aligning import timing with verified market needs and curbing speculative practices that distort farmgate prices, while providing consumers with a more stable supply and fewer price spikes.
READ: Guidelines out on rice import duty adjustments effective Jan
