Philippines to stay a net rice importer unless mills are upgraded

Philippines to stay a net rice importer unless mills are upgraded


MACTAN, CEBU -- Unless rice mills are upgraded nationwide, a trader-miller warned in a forum here that the Philippines will find it difficult to achieve self-sufficiency and could remain a net rice importer forever.
Herculano Joji Co, president of the Philippine Confederation of Grains Associations, Inc., said only a tenth -- or about 1,000 -- of the 10,000 rice mills nation-wide have been upgraded.
"The rest still use antiquated equipment. So we can’t compete in the world market. Unless these are upgraded, the Philippines will forever be a customer, and that will be music to the ears of the exporters," Mr. Co warned during the World Rice Conference, which ended here yesterday.
Other constraints to achieving self-sufficiency are the lack of irrigated rice lands and high cost of fertilizer and other inputs, he added.
The Philippines, which is the biggest rice importer in the world, has a self-sufficiency level of only 86%, National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Jessup P. Navarro said. The target is to achieve 100% self-sufficiency level by 2013.
The upside is that Filipino farmers are among the most efficient in the world, Mr. Co said.
"Some have yields of as much as eight metric tons per hectare. We are very efficient compared to other countries," he said.
Locally produced rice can also compete in terms of quality with those produced by other Asian countries.
Ganador, a local variety, was cited along with Myanmar rice for good quality during the conference yesterday. Thailand’s Jasmine rice, however, was unanimously voted by seven international chefs as the best tasting rice in the world.
While officials have assured that there’s enough supply to last until the end of the year, fears of a shortage have been raised because of the devastation wreaked by back-to-back storms that hit Luzon recently -- and with another on the way by this weekend.
NFA Deputy Administrator Ludovico J. Jarina said that as of Sept. 30, the NFA still had an inventory of 1.246 million metric tons, while households held over 728,000 metric tons and the commercial sector holds over 360,000 metric tons.
Mr. Jarina said they were still validating damage caused by twin storms Ondoy and Pepeng. But latest assessments showed damage to agriculture has hit P27 billion.
Already, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered state agencies to intervene to help stabilize the supply and prices of basic food items in the wake of the storms. Executive Order 834, issued on Oct. 15 and which will be in effect until end-December, authorized the National Food Authority, Food Terminal Inc. and the Philippine International Trading Corp. to include basic food items other than staple cereals in their coverage. "The [agencies], considering their capability and experience in the marketing of grains and non-grain commodities, are the most appropriate government agencies to intervene in the stabilization of basic food items," the order read.
Among other things, the EO provides that special safeguard duties on chicken meat and products, imposed in 2002, may be lifted to encourage private firms to import under guidelines to be issued by the Agriculture and Finance departments. -- Marites S. Villamor