Philippines duty cut likely to help Indian rice exports
May 24, 2021
The annual rice import market in Philippines is estimated at around 2.5 million tonnes
With the Philippines cutting import tariff on rice to boost supplies, Indian exporters see an opportunity to ship out more of the foodgrain to the South-East Asian nation, one of the largest grain buyers in the region.
According to reports from Manila, the Philippines last week lowered the most favoured nation tariff on rice imports to 35 per cent from 40 per cent for in-quota purchases and 50 per cent out-quota volume for one year.
For the past couple of years, Indian exporters, who faced higher rice import tariff of 50 per cent in the Philippines, have been pursuing with Manila for equalising the duty structure. However, with their traditional suppliers such as Vietnam and Thailand facing supply constraints, Manila has been forced to lower the tariff to keep the cereal prices under check.