Manila, June 12 -- Almost a year after its implementation, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Thursday backed the "gradual" hike of tariffs on 5 percent broken imported rice starting late September.

The tariffs on imported rice were reduced to 15 percent from 35 percent in July 2024 to help tame rice retail prices and slow food inflation in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

In a statement, Tiu Laurel said the "strategic" increase should coincide with the harvest seasons of major global rice exporters.

"To minimize the impact on the local market, we propose timing the tariff hike to coincide with the harvest seasons of our major suppliers, around late September for Vietnam and December for Paki...