Rice importations hit 1.92 MT in 2020

“China is too big. Sometimes, it is cheaper for one region to import than to get stocks from a distant surplus region. The region with surplus [of rice] can then export,” Montemayor said.

In 2019, China was next to the Philippines as the second largest rice importer in the world, while also having 1.4 billion population.

But in May, a Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that for the market year 2020 to 2021, global rice production will rise amid larger crops in China, Southeast Asia, and the United States.

Global trade, too, is forecast up at the third largest volume, with Philippines still maintaining its status as the world’s largest rice importer.

For this year, aside from China, the country so far imported rice from Korea, Singapore, Cambodia, Taiwan, and Japan too.

When asked for a comment, DA Spokesperson Noel Reyes was also confused why importers would buy rice from China, when “there are cheaper sources”.

A few weeks ago, the DA made a decision to stop issuing sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) on rice in order to regulate the entry of rice imports.

Of the total rice imports so far, only 2,618 sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-ICs) on rice were used, which means that there are still 1,986 unused SPSIC for this year, or equivalent to 1.82 million MT of rice.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/25/rice-importations-hit-1-92-mt-in-2020/