Weaker peso to affect PH rice importation, says PCAFI 

The country’s rice importation is expected to be affected by the weakening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) said Thursday.

“We are expecting really importation. Dahil sa baba ng presyo ng piso, medyo tatamaan talaga tayo sa importasyon,” said PCAFI president Danilo Fausto in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

(Because of the low value of the peso, we will really be hit somewhat when it comes to imports.)

The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier said that the country’s total rice imports are projected to reach or exceed 5 million metric tons (MT) in 2026. This is to offset the possible shortage in local production.

The country has so far imported 4.8 million MT of rice as of October, the PCAFI said. It added that over a million MT in losses of palay is expected due to the impact of Habagat and El Niño this year.

“So we are expecting na magbi-breach natin yung 5 million MT, baka umabot ng 5.5 million MT ang iimportahan nating bigas para yung supply natin ay mapangalagaan,” said Fausto.

(So we are expecting that we will breach 5 million MT; the rice we import might reach 5.5 million MT so that our supply can be safeguarded.)

The Agriculture Department earlier said the weak peso may affect the country's importation of several products, including rice and fertilizer.

The Philippine peso on Wednesday, November 4 closed at P63.535:$1 as expectation of further acceleration in October’s inflation rate weighed on the local unit.

The palay production from July to September of this year reached 3.08 million MT, around 18% lower than the 3.75 million MT recorded in the same quarter in 2025.

But the DA said the decline in palay production volume is already expected largely due to reduced harvested areas.

Likewise, the Federation of Free Farmers Cooperatives, Inc. (FFCI) said the dip in the palay production is also expected because it coincides with the planting period.

“Although 'yung third quarter, hindi naman masyadong malaki 'yung ani diyan dahil 'yan ay parang planting period pa lang. Ang malaking ani ay October, November, December,” said FFCI national manager Raul Montemayor in Super Radyo dzBB.

(Although for the third quarter, the harvest isn't really that large because that is still mostly the planting period. The big harvest comes in October, November, and December.)

“Pero even then, malaki 'yung 18% na pagbagsak at nong tiningnan ko ang datos, ang pagbagsak ay dahil kumaunti ang itinanim na palay. Hindi masyadong naapektuhan 'yung yield o 'yung ilang kaban bawat ektarya, ang naapektuhan ay 'yung dami ng ektarya na tinaniman at inanihan,” he added.

(But even then, an 18% drop is significant, and when I looked at the data, the drop was because fewer areas were planted with palay. The yield or the number of sacks per hectare wasn't affected much; what was affected was the total number of hectares planted and harvested.)

Further, the FFCI projects the country’s palay harvest for 2026 could reach around 700 tons, which is still enough.

“Hindi naman tayo masyadong manganganib dahil 'yung 700 tons ay kakainin lang natin sa around 20 days supply. At saka bagama't bababa 'yung ating ani ng 700,000 tons, ang ating inangkat ay aabot na ng 5 million tons eh,” said Montemayor.

(We aren't in danger, however, because that 700,000 tons only represents around 20 days of our supply consumption. Furthermore, even though our harvest will drop by 700,000 tons, our imports will already reach up to 5 million metric tons.) — RSJ, GMA News