MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and his Cabinet will discuss a proposal to raise tariffs on imported rice and temporarily suspend rice importation to protect local farmers, Malacañang announced Monday.

“The Department of Agriculture is recommending an increase in tariff on imported rice and temporarily halt all importation to protect local farmers,” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave M. Gomez said in a statement.

“The Cabinet will discuss this urgent matter with the President in India, on the sidelines of his state visit,” Gomez added.

Marcos and several Cabinet members left Monday for a five-day state visit to India.

In June, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told the House of Representatives that he had recommended to the Tariff Commission a gradual increase in rice import duties from the current 15 percent to 35 percent.

Laurel also proposed aligning the tariff hike with the harvest seasons of Vietnam and Pakistan—around late September and December, respectively—to minimize disruptions in the local market.

Rice import tariffs were reduced to 15 percent in July 2024 in an effort to ease retail prices and curb food inflation.