WITH headline inflation dropping to just 0.9 percent in July 2025—its lowest level in years—House Special Committee on Food Security Chairperson Rep. Raymond Adrian Salceda says it’s time to scale back emergency policies that may be harming local rice producers, particularly the reduced tariff on rice imports.
I fully commend President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for stabilizing inflation and getting us out of the woods. Now that inflation has eased, especially in food prices, we can afford to go back to policies that give our local farmers a fighting chance,” Salceda said.
Headline inflation slowed to 0.9 percent in July 2025, down from 4.4 percent a year ago. Food inflation posted an annual decline of 0.5 percent, driven mainly by a 15.9 percent drop in rice prices.
“That level of rice deflation is not sustainable for our farmers. It means farmgate prices are down while input costs are still high. This puts our food security at risk in the long run if farmers decide to plant less or shift to other crops,” Salceda explained.
He called for a calibrated rollback of the lowered rice tariff, which was implemented during last year’s price spikes to protect consumers.
“The purpose of the lower tariff was to bring prices down. Now that prices have dropped, it is only logical to restore tariffs to previous levels to support our rice farmers and maintain local production.”
Salceda pointed out that much of the benefit from the lower tariff went to middlemen, not consumers.
“Traders gained, but farmers bore the losses. That is not a sustainable policy direction.”
As Chair of the Food Security panel, Salceda vowed to work closely with the Department of Agriculture to strengthen rice farmer competitiveness and ensure they are not unfairly undercut by imports at a time when prices are already stable.
“We must protect our ability to produce food at home. That is what food security really means.”
Salceda also reaffirmed support for President Marcos’s agriculture agenda, including strengthening the National Food Authority, expanding irrigation and postharvest, and helping farmers shift to higher-yield varieties.
“The President has done the heavy lifting on inflation. Now it is time to make sure our farmers also benefit from the recovery.”
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