Rice imports in the Philippines increased by 19 percent in eight months

12-Sep-2024 05:18 PM

Manila. Rice imports in the Philippines, a country located in Southeast Asia, are increasing more than expected.

The government is encouraging the import of rice with the aim of increasing supply and availability in the domestic sector and curbing the rise in prices.

It is noteworthy that the Philippines is the leading importer of rice, where it is mainly imported from Vietnam and Thailand. It is also imported from many other countries.

The latest data from the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines shows that during the first eight months of the current calendar year i.e. January-August 2024, rice imports in the country increased to 28 lakh tonnes,

which is 19 percent more than the imports of the same period last year. In August 2024, about 3 lakh tonnes of rice was imported there, which was much higher than the July import of 1.67 lakh tonnes,

but still lagged behind the average monthly imports of 4 lakh tonnes of the previous months. During the half year of January-June 2024, more than 22 lakh tonnes of rice was imported in the Philippines.

According to official sources, due to regular heavy imports from neighboring countries, the supply and availability of rice has increased and prices have softened.

The price of good quality general category rice has come down to 45 pesos (0.8 dollars) per kg and in some places 42 pesos per kg.

According to official data, during January-August 2024, 21.70 lakh tonnes or 77 percent of rice was imported in the Philippines from Vietnam alone,

while 3.71 lakh tonnes were imported from Thailand, 1.56 lakh tonnes from Pakistan and 67 thousand tonnes from Myanmar. A total of 36 lakh tonnes of rice was imported there during the entire period of rainy 2023.