Philippines sees no need to hike rice imports

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{A worker carries on his head a sack of rice inside a government rice warehouse National Food Authority in Quezon city, Metro Manila in Philippines, August 9, 2018. Picture taken August 9, 2018. (Reuters/Erik De Castro/File Photo)

MANILA — The Philippines sees no need to increase rice imports for now despite concerns about retail prices for consumers, its agriculture minister said on Thursday.

“There’s no need to increase rice imports. We just have to temper the businessmen to make their prices reasonable while still maintaining profitability,” Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel told a briefing.

The annual rate of increase in rice prices in the Philippines hit a 15-year high of 24.4% in March last year, but has since moderated to 0.8% in December, helping keep overall inflation for 2024 within the government’s 2% to 4% target.

—Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by John Mair