THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday said Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. had ordered the formation of a technical working group (TWG) on rice importation policies in time for the end of the dry harvest season in May.
“We have to work fast. It’s already February,” Tiu Laurel told DA officials and rice industry players in a recent meeting.
The group will be composed of representatives from the Office of the Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development, Food Terminal Inc., Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement, and the Philippine Rice Importers Association, among others.
The DA said the group’s goal was to ensure that enough imported rice reaches local markets to stabilize prices without overwhelming local harvests.
It will improve strategic oversight of importation through transparent and evidence-based decisions. It will focus on license-based access verified by performance, and guided by data on real-time stock levels, as well as regional buffers and deficits.
The group is expected to formulate a two-layer system to strike a balance between equity and efficiency, determining not only the volume of imports, but also efficient delivery at the regional and provincial levels.
Tiu Laurel instructed the group to meet weekly and present their policy recommendations when ready.
Initial import volumes for May will remain “simple,“ Tiu Laurel said, but noted that more complex import mechanisms were set for the year, possibly after the wet season. These include tying import participation to purchases from local farmers.
Future imports volume and timing will be data-driven, forming a calibrated system for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, Tiu Laurel noted, adding that prices would be determined per province.
For transparency, the DA said it would strictly impose rice stock reporting regulations, warning traders and warehouse owners that compliance failure would lead to losing eligibility and registration.
“No data, no import participation,“ Tiu Laurel said.
For farmers, the DA promised structure-based protection of prices by preventing speculative behavior, aligning import timing with market needs and enforcing compliance among traders and millers. This will also provide a more stable supply and fewer uncertainty-driven price spikes.
Overall, the working group aims to shift rice policy from crisis response to system building, where imports serve as a calibrated lever that supports market stability and domestic production, the DA said.
