Philippines' Duterte orders halt to rice imports as farmgate prices fall

MANILA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte has ordered a halt in rice imports after farmgate prices
of the staple fell more than a fifth during the last nine
months, hurting millions of farmers in the world's top buyer of
the grain.
The Philippines, which often buys rice from southeast Asian
neighbours Vietnam and Thailand, has imported 2.9 million tonnes
this year, more than double the annual average in recent years,
to dislodge China from the top spot among importers.
Duterte and Agriculture Secretary William Dar were set to
discuss the policy directive on Wednesday, a Department of
Agriculture spokesman said.
The suspension was necessary "because it is harvest time",
Duterte told a news conference late on Tuesday, without giving
a specific timeline or guidelines.
Duterte's directive also needs clarification as it is
unclear if the suspension can be legally imposed, after he
signed a law in February lifting curbs on rice imports.
Whether the halt will help lift farmgate rice prices, which
have fallen more than 20% over the last nine months, is another
question.
Rice imports surged after Manila lifted a two-decade-old cap
on annual purchases to replace it with tariffs at levels critics
called insufficient to protect farmers.
The Philippines' economic managers have rejected calls for
the repeal or review of the rice tariff law, which helped rein
in inflation to its lowest in more than three years by October,
from last year's highest level in nearly a decade.
The suspension may also prove unnecessary, as the volume of
rice imports dropped "drastically" in October to 85,000 tonnes
from a monthly average of 254,000 tonnes in the first nine
months, agriculture department data show.
Tighter food safety norms helped slow rice imports last
month, the department said.
"We will continue to be strict and continue to elevate (food
safety) measures before the issuance of sanitary and
phytosanitary import clearance," Dar said in a statement.
To appease farmers, Duterte said the government would buy
all their produce, even if prices are higher than usual.