Philippines duty cut likely to help Indian rice exports

With the Philippines chopping import tariff on rice to strengthen provides, Indian exporters see an prospect to ship out additional of the foodgrain to the South-East Asian nation, a person of the premier grain prospective buyers in the region.

In accordance to stories from Manila, the Philippines very last 7 days decreased 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 a person yr.

For the past pair of many years, Indian exporters, who confronted increased rice import tariff of 50 per cent in the Philippines, have been pursuing with Manila for equalising the responsibility construction. Even so, with their standard suppliers these as Vietnam and Thailand facing offer constraints, Manila has been pressured to decrease the tariff to hold the cereal prices below check out.

“It’s a good advancement for us. We are now at par with other ASEAN nations around the world,” mentioned BV Krishna Rao, President of The Rice Exporters Association. “We are nonetheless awaiting the real orders,” Rao mentioned incorporating that this will open up a current market of all over 50 % a million tonnes in Philippines.

Market sizing

The annual rice import current market in Philippines is approximated at all over 2.5 million tonnes. The higher high-quality rice current market is all over two million tonnes, although the decrease high-quality is all over 50 % a million tonnes. Vietnam and Thailand offer mainly the higher high-quality fragrant and glutinous types to the Philippines.

The Indian Basmati rice doesn’t obtain important takers in the Philippines as it is regarded as expensive in contrast to Thai Jasmine and other fragrant types. Even though Basmati is priced at $1,000-1,two hundred per tonne, the Thai types are out there at $seven hundred per tonne.

Indian rice exports to the Philippines have confronted a unstable craze in latest many years (see table). “It is a good current market in the lengthy run, where by we can enhance our current market share,” Rao mentioned.