THE national government lost an estimated P7.5 billion in revenue last year due to undervaluation of rice imports, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said.

Raul Montemayor, FFF national manager, said that declared costs for imported rice averaged only P24.12 per kilo in 2023, excluding tariffs. This was 22 percent lower than the Bureau of Customs (BoC) reference price of P30.78 per kilo.

"An additional P2.34 per kilo in tariffs could have been collected by the BoC if there was no undervaluation," Montemayor said on Wednesday.

He added that the "continued failure" of the bureau to address the undervaluation of rice imports has led to the loss of billions of pesos in tariff revenues, which could have been utilized to support rice farmers.

"The total revenue loss in 2023 alone was almost P7.5 billion from the 3.2 million tons of imports for which the BoC maintained reference prices," said Montemayor.

From 2019, when the Rice Tariffication Law was enacted, he said that the accumulated foregone tariffs due to undervaluation would reach almost P25 billion.

Montemayor added nearly all rice deliveries containing 5 percent to 100 percent broken grains had all declared freight on board values of $500 per ton since September 2023.

The FFF noted that 90 percent of the total volume of rice imported in 2023 was undervalued.

"A total of 3.582 million tons of rice were imported in 2023, of which 83 percent was sourced from Vietnam. Less than 4 percent of total imports came from non-Asean countries, validating claims that the reduction in tariffs on non-Asean rice imports has not succeeded in diversifying the country's sources of rice," said Montemayor. Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Private traders are now permitted to import rice, subject to a 35-percent tariff on rice under Republic Act 11203.

Under Executive Order 10, lower pork, corn and rice tariff rates are extended until Dec. 31, 2024.

"Tariff losses from rice imports are only the tip of the iceberg. The situation with imports of pork, chicken, corn and vegetables is much worse," said Montemayor.

He added that the government should strengthen tariff collection if they want to generate more revenues without imposing new taxes.

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