The Department of Agriculture may recommend the revocation of Executive Order 62 which lowered the tariff on imported rice.

In a radio interview, Asec. Arnel De Mesa, Agriculture spokesman said the recommendation to revoke the EO 62 is possible once the price of rice in the international market will continue to go down.

"There is a possibility to recommend the return of the tariff to a certain level, may not necessarily to 35, just going to that. So that is a possibility," he said.

De Mesa explained that the DA may recommend the revocation of the tariff cuts on imported rice in the next review that will be done by February or March.

"In the next meeting we will see if the standard is enough to recommend the return of the tariff (to its previous rate)," he said.

The reduction of rice tariffs to 15 percent from 35 percent under the EO 62, the lowest in the country's history, took effect last July 5.

The tariff cut was implemented as part of the government's effort to ease the price of rice in the country amid the increasing prices in the global market. Robina Asido/DMS