DA to issue order banning rice importation during harvest season

October 23 ------ The Department of Agriculture (DA) told senators Thursday that it will designate months when its attached agency can only issue permits to import rice from abroad. During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, Agriculture Undersecretary Rodolfo Vicerra said the DA will issue an administrative order that would prohibit rice importation during harvest season.

“We need to really manage the issuance of SPSIC (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances), specifically on the timing so that the arrivals of these imports will not combine with our main harvest. So we will have to come up with an administrative order on this,” Vicerra said. Sen. Cynthia Villar asked the DA to immediately specify the periods for the issuance and non-issuance of the permits “so that traders can plan their businesses ahead.”

Vicerra said importation could be allowed during the lean months of January and February, June to August, and November to December. But senators said the DA should also consider the 60-day validity of the import permits whose arrivals in the country could fall on harvest season. “So ang months na puwedeng mag-issue (are) November, December, January tapos May and June. They have five months,” Villar said which Vicerra concurred.

For February, March, April, July, August, September, and October, no permits shall be given to importers. Sen. Francis Pangilinan and Imee Marcos supported the plan. Meanwhile, senators scolded Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) Director George Culaste for issuing import permits during the harvest season, which was blamed for the oversupply of rice and the over decline of farmgate prices of locally-produced rice.

The BPI, a DA-attached agency, was in charge for issuing the SPSIC required for importing rice. “Actually, during the harvest season or rice, that is during March and September, we manage the issuance of that SPSIC for rice imports. We control, because we cannot stop the issuance,” Culaste said. This irked Villar, who reiterated that the agency has the prerogative over rice importation.

“Who will question you if you stop your issuance? Who will question you?” Villar pressed Culaste. “You know, negosyante ako, walang negosyante na nagkukuwestyon sa gobyerno ‘pag hindi sila nag-issue. Huwag mong sabihin sa akin ‘yan. Ni hindi ka madedemanda diyan. Napakatanga nong trader para idemanda ka dahil hindi ka nag-issue ng import permit. Common sense ‘yon,” she said. “You can always invoke that during certain times of the year you will not issue import permit. That’s your power. And if you cannot exercise that power you don’t deserve to head the BPI. Mali ang strategy mo. Tamain mo ‘yang strategy mo. Huwag kang ganyan,” a fuming Villar told Culaste.

Culaste said the BPI last issued an SPSIC in Aug. 20 of this year. “‘Yong 60 days po swak na swak na harvest season, para namang nang-iinis ka. Kasi kung valid ‘yan ng 60 days, ‘yung mass ship out niyan kasagsagan ng ani,” Marcos said. Marcos said the government can regulate rice importation while complying with the Rice Tariffication Law and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) rules on trade.

Source: mb.com.ph