This is seen to shift the approach to a more data-driven and strategically managed one, according to the department.
On Monday, February 9, Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. of the Department of Agriculture (DA) ordered the creation of a technical working group (TWG) on rice importation.
The group was established to enhance the strategic oversight of the rice importation by using transparent and evidence-based decisions.
Also, rather than “ad hoc approvals,” they will focus on license-based access verified by performance, guided by data on regional deficits, buffers, and real-time stock levels—all to ensure that enough imported rice enters the market to temper prices without overwhelming local harvests.
This team will be composed of representatives from the DA-Office of Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development and Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM),
and Philippine Rice Importers Association (PRIA), among others.
The TWG is expected to balance equity and efficiency, determining the volume of rice to be imported and “when and where” it should go—down to provincial and regional levels.
According to them, this is in line with its goal of racing to finalize import policies for the month of May, while also laying the groundwork for a more structured system later in the year.
Tiu Laurel underscored at recent meeting, “We (at DA) have to work fast. It’s already February,” adding that he has instructed the TWG to meet weekly and deliver policy recommendations within weeks.
He also noted that the initial import volumes for May will remain “simple,” but more complex mechanisms, such as linking import participation to purchases from local farmers.
These are “firmly on the table for later in the year,” potentially after the wet season, Tiu Laurel added.
The DA also said that it also plans to tighten reporting requirements on rice stocks, and warned that traders and warehouses that fail to submit data risk losing import eligibility to import registration.
Tiu Laurel also empahsized: “no data, no import participation.”
By aligning import timing with verified market needs and enforcing compliance across traders and millers, the DA said that it also aims to curb speculative behavior that distorts prices at the farm gate for farmers.
As for consumers, it said that the payoff is steadier supply and fewer price spikes driven by uncertainty.
“In effect, the TWG represents the DA’s effort to move rice policy from crisis response to system-building—where imports are no longer a blunt tool, but a calibrated lever supporting both market stability and domestic production,” the department underscored.