For the third year in a row, the Philippines remains the world’s top importer, while domestic production continues to decline (also) due to La Niña. In the weakest segment, food absorbs 40% of family expenses, and social inequalities grow. Consumption went from 14.8 million tons in 2020-2021 to 17.4 million today.
Milan () – The Philippines is heading towards a third consecutive year of record rice purchases, confirming its position as the world’s largest importer of this food, which not only remains nutritionally essential but also has important social and cultural implications. But supply at an affordable price is increasingly a challenge in a global market affected by climate reasons, price increases and, finally, by protectionist or strategic measures.
The latest data available is from the United States Department of Agriculture. The figures show the decline in Philippine production due to the La Niña climate phenomenon and the devastating natural disasters that have affected the main rice-producing areas of the archipelago in the year that is ending.
This runs the risk of accentuating the difficulties of the less favored population, especially vulnerable in a country that in a few years has gone from being almost self-sufficient in rice to being a net importer. Various factors play in this situation, starting with environmental and economic ones. Added to this are the decisions of planners given the data of a planned import for the 2024-2025 financial year of 5.4 million tons, largely due to the increase in consumption, which increased from 14.8 million tons in 2020. -2021 to the current 17.4 million.
An ever-growing population of 118 million, evolving food habits and – in times of hardship – greater recourse to the staple of the Filipino diet are the reasons behind the rice deficit. Furthermore, added to this is greater difficulty in supplying foreign markets.
The alarm began to sound a long time ago, especially because of the devastating effect it could have on the poorest third of the archipelago’s population. According to official statistics, in this segment, food absorbs 40% of family expenses and already erodes other possibilities or needs, increasing social inequality. On the other hand, massive imports from abroad at lower than local prices risk further sinking Filipino producers, especially small farmers who cannot sustain competition.
It is a widespread reality that calls the authorities to action, both in the long term, planning investments and interventions to increase local productivity, and in the short term, with subsidy initiatives or controlled prices. In this sense, although still very insufficient, rice sales points are oriented to a controlled price of 40 pesos (about 65 euro cents) per kilo of the KADIWA ng Pangulo program. An initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture in which producer cooperatives and business and consumer associations participate.
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