Imported rice arrivals jumped to 3.34 million metric tons (MMT) in January to July despite government efforts to limit shipments by halting the entry of the 5 percent broken variant to support domestic farmgate prices.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the inability of the country to open more irrigated areas has contributed to the continued reliance of the Philippines on rice imports.
In a chance interview during the Senate budget hearing last week, Balisacan said the country’s total irrigated area has practically remained unchanged over the past 10 years, limiting its ability to make farmland more productive.
‘Our capacity to develop our farmlands into more productive lands by developing irrigation system, constructing (irrigation) has practically been not very slow, (it’s) almost flat,’ Balisacan told reporters.
Figures from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed that imported rice shipments in the 7-month period rose by 29.47 percent to 3.34 MMT, from the 2.58 MMT recorded in the same period last year.
On a monthly basis, rice arrivals in July rose by almost 15 percent to 548,046.74 metric tons (MT), from the 477,758.525 MT in June.
As of August 13, however, BPI data indicated that rice shipments have reached 3.46 MMT.
Of the latest volume that arrived in the Philippines, 2.59 MMT came from Vietnam, which remained the country’s leading supplier of the staple grain. This was followed by Thailand at 378,404.278 MT.
The Philippines also purchased rice from other nations, including Myanmar (286,052.650 MT), Pakistan (107,485.5 MT), Cambodia (87,802 MT), and India (13,101.830 MT).
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. asked importers to stop bringing in 5 percent broken rice starting July, as it poses stiff competition to local palay (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2026/07/02/da-to-importers-stop-bringing-in-5-broken-rice/).
He said the move is meant to help prop up farmgate prices of paddy rice, which tends to go into freefall during the main harvest season.
‘The farmgate price of palay during the mid-September to October harvest shouldn’t plunge to P8 to P12 per kilo like what happened last year,’ he said.
‘That’s our main challenge, and we’ve thought of a solution. We will no longer allow the entry of 5 percent broken rice into the Philippines starting now. It should only be 25 percent broken rice or worse (grades).’
Meanwhile, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa attributed the surge in rice imports to the market’s ‘natural response’ to the compounding factors that rattled the sector, such as hike in input costs and the potential impact of El Niño on production.
De Mesa also said rice imports this year could reach a new all-time high due to the spike in fertilizer and fuel prices affecting palay production.
Input prices previously skyrocketed to record levels, owing to the Middle East war that closed the Strait of Hormuz and choked off oil shipments.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that palay harvest in January to June slid by 0.6 percent to 9.02 MMT, from the 9.08 MMT recorded in the same period last year.
Population growth
The country’s chief economist said population growth has also outpaced rice production growth, with the population expanding by 1.23 percent annually compared with 0.9 percent for rice production.
He said the gap has persisted for years, leaving imports necessary to meet the country’s rice consumption needs.
Apart from limited irrigation expansion, Balisacan also cited the conversion of productive agricultural land to other uses as another factor behind insufficient domestic production.
‘We should pass our National Land Use Code so that it can properly designate the areas that should not be converted to other uses,’ he said.
Balisacan particularly pointed to agricultural areas where the government has already invested in irrigation, saying conversion of these lands would mean wasting those investments.
The proposed National Land Use Act is among the common legislative agenda identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) for passage by the end of the 20th Congress.
The measure seeks to establish a national framework for the ‘rational, holistic, just allocation, utilization, management, and development of land and water resources’ across the country.
The bill is now being considered by the Senate after the House of Representatives approved the proposal on third and final reading in May.