MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects a significant reduction in inflation with the immediate passage of the rice tariffication bill in Congress, as the staple accounts for about nine percent of the total consumer basket. For next year, Guinigundo said the replacement of the quantitative restrictions on rice imports with tariff would slash inflation by 0.6 percentage points. He said one of the mitigants on rising inflation is the imposition of tariff on rice imports. The BSP, together with other government agencies including the Department of Finance (DOF), as well as the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) have been pushing for the passage of the rice tariffication bill in Congress. On the other hand, based on the DOF estimates, the removal of the rice quantitative restriction could slash retail prices of rice by as much as P7 per kilo.

Source: Philippine Star May 13, 2018 15:56 UTC