Source: Business World
09/02/2012 - Duty-free rice imports that will serve as buffer are seen to substantially decrease next year should current production targets be met, an official said yesterday, even as the country gears up to become self-sufficient in producing the staple.

Dante S. Delima, Department of Agriculture (DA) assistant secretary and National Rice Program coordinator, said the level of imports may drop to 100,000 metric tons (MT) next year from half a million MT this year should the 18.46-million-MT target be met.

"This 100,000 MT [of imports] will then only serve as buffer," he said in an interview.

Mr. Delima said that the target output this year will meet per capita rice consumption of about 34,000 kilograms per day.

The Agriculture department, meanwhile, also expects an output of one million MT from an advance cropping scheme that it is proposing to farmers this year that will cover about 200,000-250,000 hectares of irrigated land.

The department and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) are in talks with administrators of the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System and Upper Pampanga River Irrigation System for the project.

"We expect an increase in rice production because of [this] change in cropping [schedule]," said Mr. Delima, adding that the department is working on making sure seeds will be available for the earlier cropping period.

The advance cropping scheme is seen to address the impact of calamities on rice production, particularly on official weather predictions for the year. Losses from calamities last year amounted to 2.12 million MT, data from the Agriculture department showed.

Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, meanwhile, showed that the country produced 16.684 million MT of the staple in 2011.

"After a consultation with the NIA, we proposed to move the wet season cropping," said Mr. Delima in a press briefing.

For his part, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said that the 18.46-million-MT target rice output this year was "conservative."

The same opinion holds for the BAS projection of 4.035 million MT for the first quarter of this year.

"The interventions [that the DA is planning] were not taken into account yet," Mr. Alcala said in the same briefing.

If the target production is reached this year and if the advance cropping project is successful, Mr. Delima said rice output is expected to rise in 2013 to 2016.

Documents from the department showed that the 2013 target was set at 20.04 million MT. Targeted production for the succeeding years are: 21.50 million MT for 2014, 22.13 million MT for 2015, and 22.73 million MT for 2016.

Mr. Delima explained that once rice sufficiency is achieved by the end of 2013, the target production for the next few years will only increase "incrementally."

Advance cropping is part of the department’s two-year intensive campaign in line with the rice sufficiency program. Under the scheme, planting will start in April until May, effectively avoiding the rainy season in October. Cropping will start as early as July.

A proposed advance cropping calendar for 2012 to 2013 detailed four cropping periods, with the first in January to early April, the second in May to late August or early September, the third in October and ending January, and the fourth in March to June.

"September will be a rest period for the land," said Mr. Delima. "The goal is to harvest [the wet crops] by August or early September to avoid the critical month of October."

Plans in the yearly campaign include the Rice Achievers Award, the launch of the Food Staple Sufficiency Program, and the national agrimechanization road show, among others.

In a related development, groups vying to avail of authority to import rice from four identified countries at lower tariff should submit applications today, the National Food Authority (NFA) said yesterday.

The 163,000 MT of rice imports within the minimum access volume (MAV) will come from Thailand, China, India and Australia.

"Applicants must submit their application and requisite documents as stated in the said provisions herein on February 10, 2012, Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. only," the NFA said in the import guidelines posted on its Web site yesterday.

To qualify for an allocation, the NFA said interested importers should have the following requirements upon application: letter of intent detailing volume of rice imports, source country and contact details; valid and updated NFA import license for this year; mayor’s permit for 2012; pro-forma invoice or invoice sent by supplier in advance of shipment or delivery of goods; registration with the Bureau of Customs to secure a 12-digit code known as Customs Client Number; and certificate of registration with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The NFA said that of the import figure, 98,000 MT should come from Thailand, 25,000 MT from China, 25,000 MT from India and 15,000 MT from Australia.

The rice imports, it added, will be subject to the payment of 40% duty and that the shipment should arrive not later than Dec. 31 this year.

The government has set a total of 350,000 MT of rice imports under the MAV this year. Imports within the MAV are subject to lower tariff.

Rice imports outside the MAV, NFA Administrator Angelito T. Banayo said in an interview on Wednesday, are slapped with a 50% duty.

Mr. Banayo also said that the announcement of qualified applicants to bring in 187,000 MT of rice making up the first batch of the MAV for this year is expected to be made within the week.

"The applicants are being reviewed," Gilberto F. Lauengco, special assistant to the NFA administrator and Bids and Awards Committee co-chairman, said in a text message yesterday, when asked if the evaluation of applications for the 187,000-MT rice imports has been completed.

This shipment that is subject to 40% duty, he said, can be sourced anywhere and should be in the country before the end of the year.