Philippines opens its rice market to India with duty cut

With the Philippines reducing import tariff on rice to boost supplies, Indian exporters see an prospect to ship out far more of the foodgrain to the South-East Asian country, one of the major grain customers in the location.

In accordance to reports from Manila, the Philippines very last week decreased the most favoured country tariff on rice imports to 35 per cent from 40 per cent for in-quota purchases and fifty per cent out-quota volume for one year.

For the past pair of a long time, Indian exporters, who faced increased rice import tariff of fifty per cent in the Philippines, have been pursuing with Manila for equalising the responsibility framework. On the other hand, with their regular suppliers these kinds of as Vietnam and Thailand going through supply constraints, Manila has been compelled to decreased the tariff to preserve the cereal price ranges underneath check out.

“It’s a superior advancement for us. We are now at par with other ASEAN countries,” stated BV Krishna Rao, President of The Rice Exporters Affiliation. “We are however awaiting the true orders,” Rao stated introducing that this will open up up a current market of all around 50 percent a million tonnes in Philippines.

Marketplace measurement

The yearly rice import current market in Philippines is estimated at all around two.5 million tonnes. The large high-quality rice current market is all around two million tonnes, even though the decreased high-quality is all around 50 percent a million tonnes. Vietnam and Thailand supply largely the large high-quality fragrant and glutinous varieties to the Philippines.

The Indian Basmati rice does not obtain key takers in the Philippines as it is regarded high-priced in contrast to Thai Jasmine and other fragrant varieties. Although Basmati is priced at $1,000-1,200 per tonne, the Thai varieties are out there at $seven-hundred per tonne.

Indian rice exports to the Philippines have faced a volatile craze in the latest a long time (see table). “It is a superior current market in the extensive run, in which we can enhance our current market share,” Rao stated.