ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos orders 60-day suspension of rice imports to protect local farmers

Marcos orders 60-day suspension of rice imports to protect local farmers

Published Aug 6, 2025 10:03 am  |  Updated Aug 6, 2025 08:59 pm

At A Glance

  • The President announced the move after consultations with key Cabinet officials on the sidelines of his five-day State Visit to India.

President Marcos has ordered a 60-day suspension of all rice importation starting Sept. 1 to shield local farmers from falling palay prices during the ongoing harvest season, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) announced.

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (PCO)
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (PCO)

The President announced the move after consultations with key Cabinet officials on the sidelines of his five-day State Visit to India.

In a statement, Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said the temporary halt was based on the recommendation of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

“Right now the decision is to suspend all rice importation for 60 days beginning Sept. 1,” he said.

“‘Yan po ang utos ng ating mahal na pangulo para matulungan ang ating mga magsasaka ng bigas (That is the order of our beloved President to help our rice farmers),” he added.

However, the President clarified that while the Department of Agriculture (DA) had earlier proposed increasing rice import tariffs, the matter will be deferred for now.

“We will still see if we need to resort to that,” Marcos said, noting that a tariff hike was not yet on the table.

He said the focus must remain on protecting local producers in the immediate term.

In a press briefing in New Delhi, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro explained the wisdom behind the President's decision to ban rice imports for two months.
"Dahil gumaganda po talaga ang produce ng ating mga farmers, at minsan nga po ngayon sinasabi na napupuno po talaga yung bodega ng NFA (Our farmers' produce is improving to the point that NFA warehouses are sometimes full)," she told reporters covering the President's visit.
"So kung maganda po kasi ang ani ng ating mga magsasaka, hindi po makakabuti na mag-import pa po tayo ng bigas (So if the produce is good, importing rice won't be helpful)," she added.
Castro said Marcos was only thinking of the farmers' welfare when he made the decision.
"Kailangan i-suspend po ito dahil po maganda po ang ani ng ating mga farmers para hindi po maapektuhan ang presyo nito at hindi maabuso ng ibang mga traders (The suspension was necessary because of the good yield and so the price of rice won't be affected and abused by some traders)," she added.

Earlier this week, the DA recommended both a tariff hike and a temporary halt to rice importation, citing the urgent need to stabilize farmgate prices and prevent oversupply during the critical harvest months of August to October.

According to the DA’s July 2025 price monitoring report, farmgate prices of palay in several provinces have dipped to as low as P15–P16 per kilo—well below the break-even range of P23–P27 per kilo for most farmers.

The DA attributes the price drop to increased rice imports and market speculation ahead of peak harvest months. 

In its recommendation to the President, the agency warned that continuous importation could lead to a further decline in farmgate prices, potentially discouraging local production in the next cropping season.

DA Secretary Laurel earlier said the agency would enhance the National Food Authority’s local palay procurement to help stabilize prices and protect smallholder farmers. He also said the DA is working to improve post-harvest facilities and storage to minimize losses during the wet season.

Related Tags

President Marcos Bongbong Marcos rice imports Dave Gomez PCO
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.