IMPORTERS and traders continue to work in cahoots to manipulate rice prices despite an oversupply and while raking in as much as P13 billion from lower import tariffs, Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo yesterday told the quinta committee on cheap food prices of the House of Representatives.
Rice import tariffs were slashed from 35 percent to 15 percent under Executive Order (EO) No. 62 issued by President Marcos Jr. last June,
While EO 62 was issued on the hope that it will help bring down rice prices, Quimbo said the opposite happened after traders and importers conspired to hoard supplies to jack up prices.
“Nasa kamay ‘yan ng importers at traders na yumaman po ng P13 billion dahil sa pagbaba ng taripa. Pero wini-withhold nila ang rice stocks sa ngayon (It’s in the hands of importers and traders who profited P13 billion from the tariff cut. But now, they’re withholding rice stocks),” she told the joint panel chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda.
She said while the landed price of imported rice dropped by P11 per kilo year-on-year, domestic prices rose from P51 to P55.30, exposing market inefficiencies. She also noted that the difference between landed and domestic prices has also gotten bigger, from P3 per kilo in 2023 to P20 in 2024.
Quimbo, an economist, said rice prices should stabilize at around P35 per kilo, including reasonable profit margins. “Dapat nasa bandang P35. Pero ngayon, malinaw na ito ay pagsasamantala (It should be around P35 but now, it’s clear there is profiteering),” she said.
Salceda’s panel is joined by the House Committees on Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Food, Social Services, and the Special Committee on Food Security in the “supercommittee on cheap food,” which was formed under Speaker Martin Romualdez’s House Resolution (HR) No. 254.
The supercommittee was created to address issues in the country’s food supply chain, including price manipulation, smuggling, and hunger.
‘CONSPIRACY’
Quimbo said data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that the demand-supply ratio for rice dropped from 82.5 percent in 2023 to 69 percent in 2024, which she said is clear proof that there is an oversupply.
She said the PSA presentation showed that there is a “conspiracy” to hoard supplies because “the demand over supply is less than one, which means there is excess supply.”
Government data showed that as of November 1, the country’s total rice stock inventory was estimated at 2.5 million metric tons, which is a 25 percent increase from last year.
“May excess supply. Kung ano ang kailangan natin na bigas ay mas mababa sa kung ano ang meron tayo. At kapag may excess supply, dapat bumaba ang presyo. Pero bakit hindi bumababa? (There’s an excess supply. Whatever amount we need is lower than what we have and if there’s an excess supply, the price should go down. Why is it not going down?)” she said.
On the questioning of Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) director Nieva Natural agreed that the landed cost or the price of imported rice has gone down by P7.35 per kilo or from P40 to around P33.
Garin however said that while worldwide rice prices have been going down, Filipinos, especially farmers, are still not benefiting from the lower costs.
“Tila nawala sa hangin, dahil sa posibilidad na walang kompetisyon or may pag-u-usap-usap sa presyo at dagdag pa dito ang dagok sa ating mga farmers dahil napu-pwersa silang magbenta ng kanilang produckto pero ang kumikita ay ang malalaking negosyante (It seems to have disappeared into thin air because of the possibility that there’s no competition, and an additional blow to our farmers is the fact that they are forced to sell at lower prices and big businessmen are the ones profiting),” she said.
SHARED OWNERSHIP
Rep. Nicanor Briones (PL, AGAP) also exposed shared ownership among top importers, identifying RBS Universal Grains Traders Corp. and Sodatrade Corp., among others, as having collectively imported 273,000 metric tons of rice.
“‘Pag tiningnan mo, ang mga may-ari ay iisa [lamang]. Ibig sabihin, dito palang malinaw na may sabwatan (When you examine it, there’s only one owner. It means, there’s clearly collusion),” he said. “Napakarami nating bigas, pero nasaan? Tinatago ba? (We have a lot of rice supply but where is it)?”
DA- Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) Director Gerald Glenn F. Panganiban admitted that their office did not check the ownership details of the two companies prior to granting them import permits.
The revelation prompted Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon to call out the BPI for issuing permits to rice importing companies without exercising due diligence.
“Hindi mo ba napansin kung sino ‘yung mga nabanggit na kumpanya ni Cong. (Nicanor) Briones, base sa mga listahan ng mga pagmamay-ari, e iisa lang ‘yung dalawang top rice importer natin (You didn’t even notice that the two top rice importers mentioned by Cong. Briones, based on the ownership list, have only one owner),” Suarez said.
Panganiban replied: “Hindi po, hindi namin napa-check (We weren’t able to check).” “Since corporation po ito sir, we are checking po kung sino nga yung mga may-ari (Since this is a corporation, we’re checking who the owner is).”
