The Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking higher tariffs on several imported meat products after their import volumes triggered the need for special safeguard (SSG) duties to cushion the impact on local producers. Under Department Order (DO) No. 24, dated Aug. 5, Agriculture Secretary Francisco...
Adopting a uniform five percent tariff rate on corn imports could generate ₱17.2 billion in net economic gains as consumer savings offset losses for local farmers and government revenues, according to advocacy group Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF). Speaking at a Tariff Commission (TC)...
Stricter monitoring and technical assessments of imported goods—rather than higher import volumes—likely drove the Bureau of Customs (BOC) past its ₱82-billion revenue target for July, according to its chief. Speaking to reporters during the turnover of proceeds from forfeited luxury...
Despite increased government spending on agriculture and social protection, the Philippines continues to grapple with persistent malnutrition, high food prices, and weak agricultural productivity, underscoring the need for a major overhaul of food security policies, according to state-run policy...
The country’s meat imports grew 12 percent in the first half of 2026 to more than 870,000 metric tons (MT), as pork purchases from abroad climbed sharply to meet strong domestic demand. The latest Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed that meat imports from January to June reached 872,274...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is considering linking the volume of foreign rice that traders can bring into the country to their investments in the rice sector, as it pursues another restriction to limit the impact of rice imports. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the DA is...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is exploring the imposition of higher tariffs by at least 13 percentage points (ppt) on certain rice imports from four of its major suppliers, including Vietnam, as a safeguard measure to mitigate the impact of rising imports on the domestic rice industry. Upon...
Pakistan, one of the Philippines’ top rice suppliers, has questioned whether the Philippine government is complying with global trade rules in its plan to impose safeguard measures to restrict rice imports and shield local farmers. During the Tariff Commission’s (TC) preliminary conference on...
The Philippines’ rice imports rose by a fifth to a record 2.75 million metric tons (MT) in the first half of 2026, as the country leaned on purchases from abroad to counter subpar domestic output and temper retail prices. The latest Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) data showed that rice imports in...
The country’s meat imports in the first five months of the year rose by nearly 22 percent to more than 720,000 metric tons (MT), as shipments from abroad continued to supplement subpar domestic production. Citing the latest Bureau of Customs (BOC) data, the Congressional Policy and Budget...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has secured the commitment from industry players to limit the entry of five-percent broken imported rice, as the agency weighs measures to provide relief to the domestic rice sector. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said farmers, importers, and traders...
The Tariff Commission (TC) has initiated a formal investigation to determine whether to impose a definitive safeguard measure on imported rice to provide relief to the local industry, which has been reeling from the surge in foreign shipments. In a notice, the TC announced it launched the probe...
