BAGUIO CITY – Importance of rice to the economic and political life of Filipinos is given fresh underscoring by government findings that 88 per cent of families in the nation depend on the cereal as mainstay of their daily meals.
In short, rice strongly remains the country’s staple food despite gradual transformation of food demand structure and evolution of diversifying patterns of food consumption in the country’s many regions.
On the demand side, various price-stabilizing measures have been in place to keep the price of rice at an affordable level.
Economic importance of rice in the Philippines rests on the footmark that an abundant and stable supply is critical in reducing poverty and hunger. For millions of Filipinos, it is their primary staple food.
Being one of the world’s biggest rice importers, the government is bent on cracking down on domestic price manipulation at a time of rising pressure from events such as the Russia-Ukraine war, India’s export ban and unpredictable oil prices.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has approved a maximum price ceiling for rice that will go only as far as 56 pesos and any manipulation by opportunistic traders will be under the radar of authorities.
Farmers groups welcomed the move.
A report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicated Filipinos are projected to increase their rice intake this year 2024, solidifying the Philippines’ ranking as the sixth largest consumer of the grain worldwide.
In USDA’s Grain: World Markets and Trade Report, it is projected that Filipinos will consume a record 16.5 million metric tons of rice this 2024, a 3 per cent increase from the 16 million metric tons consumed in 2023.
Such data translates to an average of 151,3 kilos of rice per Filipino, annually.
Due to higher consumption, USDA revised its estimates for Philippine rice imports by projecting 3.9 million metric tons this year from the previous estimate of 3.8 million metric tons.
Accounting for 25.7 percent of the global import requirements in 20243, the Philippines remains the world’s top importer of rice, and is expected to surpass China, the world’s second in rice import, which is only 2.3 million metric tons, according to the report.
It was also projected by the USDA report that Philippine rice output may decrease to 12.5 million metric tons this 2024, from the 12.625 million metric tons last year due to El Nino or the dry weather.
During President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent state visit to Hanoi, the Philippines and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding on rice trade cooperation.
Under the memorandum, Vietnam commits to supply the Philippines 1.5 million to 2 million metric tons of rice yearly, at competitive and affordable prices for the next five years.
On the political importance of rice, records of more than 20 years past show whenever a shortage of rice looms, coupled by high retail prices, it always spells big trouble for any political party in power, aside from broadly indicating a negative national economic situation.
Today, it still spells trouble for the government. Filipinos remember too well when Marcos Jr. was on the campaign trail, he tried to visualize the probability of lowering the price of one kilo of rice to twenty pesos.
Although economically and politically improbable at this present time, Filipinos with a long memory harp on it and hoping the twenty pesos price will become a reality.
Therefore, any political party for that matter to navigate trouble when rice shortage arises, it should be adept in ensuring that self-sufficiency policy including rice import tariffs, procurement and production subsidies should be in place to make rice more affordable, eventually affecting consumers for the foreseeable future.
In a Filipino household, rice security is synonymous with food security. Hence, it requires that the market price of rice be kept low.
While the nation has a long history of efforts to improve performance in agricultural activity, its records has always been described as wanting, particularly in productivity and competitiveness.
Reforming the rice sector was an increasing concern that in 2019, Republic Act 11203 called “An Act Liberalizing the Importation, Exportation and Trading of Rice, lifting for the Purpose the Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice, and for Other Purposes,” the law deregulating rice, liberalizing importation and scrapping restrictions on imports in favor of tariffs.
On the other hand, rice has been a pivotal and political commodity since the Commonwealth, primarily due to its importance as staple food and calorie source for the Philippine majority, especially in the low-income groups, or, to be blunt, those who consider themselves as poor.
In 2021, at least 19.9 million Filipinos rated themselves poor and being poor meaning the number of Filipinos whose per capita income is insufficient to meet basic food and non-food needs.
Since rice production is a source of employment as well as income to a wide range of Filipinos comprising the demand and supply chain, its security and price stability continue as twin priority objectives of Philippine government regimes.
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) broke down palay production by region last year, as follows:
Central Luzon, 3,638,431 metric tons; Cagayan Valley, 3,026,088 metric tons; Western Visayas, 2,263, 158 metric tons; Ilocos Region, 1,990,287 metric tons; Bicol Region, 1,3202, 649; SOCCSKSARGEN, 1,256, 406 metric tons; MIMAROPA, 1,210,384 metric tons.
BARMM, 895,563 metric tons; Eastern Visayas, 844,372 metric tons; Northern Mindanao, 824.421 metric tons; Zamboanga Peninsula, 703,864 metric tons; CARAGA, 543,431 metric tons; Davao Region, 502,745 Metric tons; CALABARZON, 433,399metric tons and Central Visayas, 293,073 metric tons.
Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), 331,470 metric tons. CAR is not a top rice producing region but it has its fair share of contribution.
By province, Benguet was able to produce 21,524 metric tons of palay out from an area of 6,187 hectares capable of producing 3.16 tons per hectare, last year.
For Apayao, it was able to harvest 61,745 metric tons of palay from irrigated areas, 13,985 metric tons from non-irrigated areas and 75,730 from provincial lands, for the year 2023.
Mountain Province was able to produce 346.50 metric tons of palay in the first quarter of 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Abra came up with a harvest of 74,415 metric tons of palay last year, grown from an area covering 21,796 hectares, each hectare capable of yielding an average 3.41 tons.
For Kalinga, it was able to harvest 109,292 metric tons of palay from irrigated areas, 3,548 metric tons from non-irrigated areas and 112,840 metric tons from government agricultural lands.
Ifugao was able to produce 31,764 metric tons of palay from their irrigated areas, 2,438 metric tons from non-irrigated areas and 34,202 metric tons from government agricultural lands.
While CAR is not a top rice producing region, more than 80 per cent of the semi-temperate vegetables consumed in the country originates in this highland region.
CAR is capable of producing 368, 608.2 metric tons of major vegetables. Major vegetables are the top 20 crops in the Philippines, other than palay and corn.
Among CAR provinces, Benguet was the top producer with 308,218.6 metric tons or 83.6 per cent of total regional vegetable production. Mountain Province followed with 8.4 per cent share, Apayao, 3.8 per cent; Ifugao, 2.2 per cent and Abra, 1.6 per cent.
Contributing the smallest share in vegetable production was Kalinga with an output of 959.6 metric tons, equivalent to 0.3 per cent of the CAR’s total vegetable production.
Priority vegetables dominates CAR’s production which include habichuelas, banana blossom, broccoli, cauliflower, kangkong, lettuce, pechay, ampalaya, stringbeans, gourd, okra, squash fruit, ginger, pepper, carrots, gabi, radish, potato, among others.
Owing to wide farm areas and suitable weather, Benguet contributes about 65 per cent of CAR’s total crop production.
On average, Filipinos consume about 114-120 kilograms of rice per capita, per year, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and that is almost double of the world average of 65 kilograms per capita, per year.
PhilRice also pointed out that every Filipino wastes 14 grams of milled rice per day, which is equivalent to about 3 tablespoons per person, per day.
Can Filipinos handle rice woes if Filipinos will eat alternative food?
According to the government’s top scientist, Secretary Renato Solidum Jr, head of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), said, “Yes, we can. We can handle this food situation on rice by looking at other alternatives to change consumer behavior.”
However, senator Francis Tolentino felt uneasy over the stand of Solidum, saying, “We’re talking of 41-peso price ceiling on rice. Ang daming nagrereklamo. I’m sure nakakain na kayo ng kanin kaninang umaga. Ang nakakalungkot, may mga Pilipino na ang kain lang ng kanin ay isang beses sa isang lingo.”
Tolentino based his argument on experience with the Mindanao Manobo tribe he witnessed eating rice only once a week and consuming root crops the rest of the days.
