DA creates TWG on rice imports

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February 11, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered the creation of a technical working group (TWG) to enhance the oversight of the country’s rice imports with the aim of ensuring sufficient supply of the staple to temper price increases, while protecting farmers.

In a statement yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. ordered the creation of the TWG that will be composed of representatives from the DA-Office of Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development and Food Terminal Inc., Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement and Philippine Rice Importers Association.

Through the TWG, the DA wants to be able to make transparent and evidence-based decisions on rice imports.

Instead of ad hoc approvals, the TWG will focus on license-based access verified by performance.

It will use data on regional deficits, buffers and real-time stock levels.

The TWG is expected to determine how much rice to import, and when and where it should go.

The TWG was formed as the DA is moving to finalize import policies for May, while laying the groundwork for a more structured system later in the year.

“We have to work fast. It’s already February,” Tiu Laurel said.

The TWG has been instructed by the DA Secretary to meet weekly in order to deliver policy recommendations.

Tiu Laurel said the initial import volumes for May will remain “simple,” but more complex mechanisms — such as linking import participation to purchases from local farmers are being considered later in the year potentially, after the wet season.

To promote transparency, the DA also plans to tighten reporting requirements on rice stocks.

It warned that traders and warehouses that fail to submit data may lose their import eligibility.

The DA also vows to protect farmers by aligning import timing with verified market needs and enforcing compliance across traders and millers.

The move is expected to benefit consumers through steady supply and stable prices.

“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 DA said.