The recent Administrative Order from the Office of the President removing barriers to the importation of food products has again generated debates on different sides of the issue.
This debate on whether allowing importation in order to have cheaper food prices versus setting up tariffs for food importation in order to prop up the prices of local agricultural products to help the farmers is actually not a new issue. I remember around seven years ago, I wrote a column about an ongoing debate about the issue of rice importation and price stabilization.
Rice is the staple food of more than half the world’s population. In the Philippines, it remains the staple food of 80 to 85 percent of the population. However, in the lower income households, rice is not only an essential food but in many of these households, it is the sole source of calorie intake.
The deregulation of the rice business may seem logical but there are political consequences to be accepted. In the short term there is no prospect of the Philippines achieving rice self-sufficiency. Even if this is achieved, imported rice will remain to be cheaper than domestically produced rice. Another problem for the Philippines is that it is located on the eastern edge of Asia directly facing the Pacific Ocean. This means it is subject to several typhoons and makes rice and other crop production risky ventures. However, the Philippines must strive to achieve a certain degree of food security. For this country to rely on other countries for its staple food is a dangerous situation.
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