Current Situation and Improvement Strategies on the Philippines Rice Industry

Since rice is the staple food in the Philippines, a slight change in the price of rice will greatly affect the life of the Filipinos. The Philippines have been a net importer of rice ever since 1870s. This rice situation has been getting worse in recent years due to many reasons that may give some hints to rice importing countries like Korea. The Philippines have imported about 2.0 million MT per year recently. Irrigational land accounts for slightly more than 1/3 of total rice acreage of 4.3 million ha. Average yield of rice has been about 2,324 kg/ha in milled basis during the last decade. Relatively higher factor costs such as fertilizers, transportation and other materials contribute to higher production costs leading to $0.33 /kg in milled basis. In order to promote the rice industry and reduce foreign import, rigorous investments in R&D should be made among other things. Proper post-harvest handling and technologies are needed so as to reduce losses and improve the rice quality. Also improvements in irrigational system, scientific farming, infrastructure, etc. are necessary. On demand side, rapid growth rate of population should be curved down for the balanced food economy. Finally, efficient rice marketing is needed in order to distribute rice at cheaper costs to the residents of 7,107 islands.