Pag-usapan natin ang importasyon ng bigas at iba pang isyu sa agrikultura.
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Balitanghali is the daily noontime newscast of GTV anchored by Raffy Tima and Connie Sison. It airs Mondays to Fridays at 10:30 AM (PHL Time). For more videos from Balitanghali, visit http://www.gmanews.tv/balitanghali.
#GMAIntegratedNews #KapusoStream
Breaking news and stories from the Philippines and abroad:
GMA Integrated News Portal: http://www.gmanews.tv
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gmanews
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gmanews
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Let's talk about the importation of rice and other issues in agriculture.
00:04 Joining us in the news this afternoon is the Federation of Free Farmers Cooperatives National Manager Raul Montemayor.
00:10 Good morning and welcome to the news this afternoon, sir.
00:13 Yes, good morning to you too.
00:16 Okay, let's start with the projection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that until this year,
00:22 we might still be the number one importer of rice. What is our reaction to that?
00:27 Well, aside from being number one, we are higher than China.
00:33 That's why we have a slight advantage in that case.
00:36 But our situation with rice, although our production is increasing,
00:43 the population growth of Filipinos is still faster.
00:48 That's why our deficit is increasing.
00:52 Last year, we were eating 20 percent of the rice in a year.
00:58 We need to increase that. That's what we lack.
01:01 This year, the improvement in our production is small, but Filipinos are eating more rice.
01:11 It's very possible that our deficit will increase to such an extent that we are the number one importer in the world.
01:20 But you are reaching to the point where you are saying that we should be self-sufficient.
01:26 It's like we are getting away from the projection that we are seeing that our country is self-sufficient in terms of rice.
01:35 Yes. Instead of getting closer to that level, we are getting away from it.
01:43 Even if we are 100 percent self-sufficient, our problem is because of the rice tariffication law.
01:53 We also opened our market to the importers.
01:57 Even if our supply is sufficient, if it's more expensive than the imported rice,
02:03 the imported rice will still be imported and there will be supply gap and the price of rice will fall here in the Philippines.
02:11 Aside from achieving self-sufficiency, we have to address the issue of competitiveness against imports.
02:19 If we want to be self-sufficient so that it will be sustainable.
02:25 Okay. On onions, what will be the effect of the suspension of the Philippines on the importation of onions?
02:32 Technically, it's prohibited under WTO rules.
02:37 The government cannot restrict the importation of imported products unless the product is contagious or it can be harmful to animals, plants or humans.
02:51 So they have to be very careful how they do it.
02:55 If they will say that they cannot import it because our farmers are getting infected,
03:01 from the point of view of the World Trade Organization, that is a violation of the rules.
03:07 So our products should be competitive instead of being prohibited from importing products.
03:12 Yes. So they have to do it very discreetly.
03:16 They will go through the issue of sanitary permit.
03:24 Without a permit, no one can import. It has to be done very discreetly.
03:30 That's what other countries are doing.
03:32 We will go to the highland vegetables that are being thrown or are being crushed because of the oversupply. How will this be addressed?
03:40 That's a very forgettable problem. It all starts with the production side.
03:45 They are planting and harvesting at the same time.
03:49 The time comes when they harvest a lot, but the market is limited.
03:57 So the next step is to put the unsold products in storage.
04:02 That's what the government is doing now, but it will take some time.
04:09 Then once it's in storage, how will you bring it from the storage to the market in the cheapest possible way?
04:19 That's a marketing issue, a logistics issue that should be addressed.
04:24 The solution has to be comprehensive.
04:27 That's right. The whole of government approach should be taken.
04:31 Thank you very much for your time.
04:34 Thank you also. Good morning.
04:36 Good morning. This is Federation of Free Farmers Cooperatives National Manager Raul Montemayor.
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