DA: No need to declare food security emergency

National

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said there is no reason to declare a food security emergency in the country as there is sufficient supply of rice.

Citing the provisions of the Rice Tarifficiation Law, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said the DA will only declare a food security emergency if there is a rice supply shortage and an extraordinary price increase.

“We have enough (rice) supply until the next harvest. So, we don’t have a supply shortage in terms of rice. The two possible scenarios will not be present in the declaration of a food security emergency,” De Mesa said in a Philippine Star report.

De Mesa said that based on the data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there was a drop in the retail price of rice, and it was no longer a big factor in inflation.

Furthermore, the price of rice is expected to drop in the coming days, as prices in the international markets are also decreasing.

As to the local production, De Mesa is optimistic, that the production will recover and the country will have a good harvest this year.

Last year the total rice production in the country reached 19.3 million metric tons while the imported rice was around 4.7 million metric tons.

The agriculture department is also reviewing the possibility of lifting its previously issued executive order lowering the tariff on imported rice to 15 percent.

De Mesa said if the international market’s price continues to drop, the DA can recommend to return the tariff on imported rice to a certain level.(LAO)