The Bureau of Customs collected P18.9 billion in duties from rice imports in 2021, up 22 percent from P15.5 billion in 2020, a top official said.
Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero disclosed the figures in a report during a Department of Finance executive committee meeting.
Import duties collected from rice imports beginning March 5, 2019 go to the annual P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund under Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law.
RCEF is used to finance programs that will sharpen the competitiveness of palay growers by way of providing them easy access to fertilizer, farm machinery and equipment, high-yield seeds and cheap credit; and offering skills training programs on farm mechanization and modern farming techniques.
Guerrero said that for pork imports, the BOC collected P3.75 billion in duties between April 9, 2021 and Jan. 28, 2022 from a total volume of 242 million kilograms. The bureau said it had foregone P4 billion in revenues during the period as a result of the presidential directives lowering the import tariffs on pork.