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AT
50-percent tariff, imported rice will likely be sold in
local stores at P50 per kilo—that is, if it can still be
found abroad after rice-exporting countries curbed
foreign sales to put a lid on inflation and the
political turbulence that high food prices could cause,
according to estimates of Sen. Francis Escudero.
His
computation was based on a $795-per-metric-ton price of
rice which, he recalled, was how much the widely traded
Thai grade B rice fetched last week, and Tuesday’s
P41.75: $1 close of the peso-dollar exchange.
“Using
these assumptions, rice will already cost P31.19 a kilo
at source, and a 50-percent tariff will bring up its
price to about P49.80 a kilo,” he added. This, he said,
does not include handling fee, hauling and storage
charges. “And zero profit, which means traders, will be
bringing in rice out of sheer patriotism.”
If “all
of the above” were factored into the retail price, plus
a little mark-up for the vendor, then we are looking at
P52 per kilo.
With
this rate, there isn’t even “moderated greed” but “zero
greed” already, he said. He estimated that even if
tariff is reduced to 30 percent, the end price of P43.15
would still be beyond the reach of ordinary Filipinos.
Citing
wire reports, Escudero said Egypt, China, Vietnam and
India, which make up more than a third of world rice
exports, restricted sales this year. He noted that the
Vietnam Food Association had asked members to stop
signing export contracts through June.
Meanwhile, Sen. Loren Legarda asserted that irrigation,
high-yield seeds and modern postharvest facilities are
badly needed if the Philippines is to achieve
100-percent rice sufficiency. In a statement, Legarda
lamented that from 1993 to 2003, only 195,200 hectares
of the total target of 294,500 hectares received
irrigation support.
Legarda
added she expects Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to
submit a breakdown of the P5-billion allocation when
Yap conducts a briefing at the Senate on the rice situation.
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