Philippines’ Agriculture Department Warns Against Fake Rice Import Allocations

Philippines’ Agriculture Department Warns Against Fake Rice Import Allocations

The Department of Agriculture (DA), Philippines has raised the alarm against fake rice import allocations by unscrupulous groups. The fake groups are making bogus rice import allocations in an attempt to make quick money said DA further warning importers not to fall for the scam. In this context, agriculture secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said that fake rice importation issues have reached his office and reflect that certain individuals are offering supposed “allocations that would let importers bring in rice as early as December.

Tiu Laurel declared that “This is fake news, this is a scam.” The agriculture secretary further issued a sharp warning to those behind rice import scam Philippines, warning that government will soon reach to those behind rice import fraud. As far as Philippines rice imports is concerned, the nation has imposed a temporary rice-import ban until December 31, to safeguard its farmers. The rice import news Philippines came in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to stabilize palay prices and shield local rice farmers from financial distress.

Philippines Imposed Rice Import Ban to Safeguard Local Farmers

The initial two-month rice import ban helped push palay prices in key provinces such as Isabela and Nueva Ecija up to P13–P14 per kilo in the Philippine rice market, from lows of around P8 before the ban. However, as harvest season peaked and the rice import ban neared its original end date, farm-gate prices again softened—prompting government to further tighten, rice import regulation and extend the freeze through year-end.

Fraudsters breaching the Philippine food security rules, despite the ban circulated rice import forms among rice millers, importers, and traders in Cebu, claiming that those who sign up “will be able to import by December” and receive guaranteed allocations. Bursting the rice import fraud, officials have claimed that they have encountered One such sample form—styled with official-sounding language—asks the Secretary to acknowledge a list of “participating miller-importers” with supposed import volumes from previous years, and implies that signatories would be included in a “food security program in 2026.”

The DA, in this context urged industry players to remain vigilant from this rice import ban and immediately report any similar solicitations

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