The Philippines is once again facing a food crisis, with the United States seizing the opportunity for profit.
In the absence of aid from China, President Marcos Jr.'s response measures seem weak and inadequate.
Why is the Philippines experiencing this food crisis?
And why is its ally, the United States, taking advantage of the situation?
What kind of aid did China previously provide to the Philippines?
How will the isolated President Marcos Jr. address this predicament?
Since the beginning of this year, the Philippines has been hit by extreme weather conditions.
Several media reports indicate that due to the El Niño phenomenon, more than half of the Philippines has experienced high temperatures and drought, with temperatures in about 30 cities soaring to between 40-50 degrees Celsius.
According to official reports from the Philippines, the extreme weather caused by El Niño has affected 1.47 million Filipinos, with over 100 cities declaring a state of disaster.
During this disaster, nearly 30,000 Filipino farmers have been affected, with agricultural losses amounting to 1.5 billion RMB.
Under these circumstances, the Philippines has had to resort to importing food to alleviate the domestic crisis.
Data shows that from January to May this year, the Philippines imported 2.086 million tons of rice, an increase of nearly 30% compared to the same period last year.
In fact, the Philippines has relied on foreign rice imports for many years. Since India announced restrictions on rice exports last year, the price of rice in the Philippines has soared, making it one of the fastest-growing items in domestic inflation.
To curb prices, Marcos Jr. introduced a series of measures, the most notable being the implementation of a "rice price ceiling" policy, attempting to suppress market prices through administrative means.
However, after facing strong opposition, this measure fizzled out within a month.
Regarding this, the Philippine media stated that Marcos Jr.'s promise to control rice prices was essentially an "illusion."
Extreme weather has merely magnified the Philippines' food crisis.
In fact, the international community had already foreseen the crisis in the Philippines. Last December, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao predicted the drought months later based on the number of storms the Philippines experienced in 2023.
In January this year, the US Department of Agriculture released a report predicting that the Philippines would become the world's largest rice importer in 2024 and accurately foresaw the impending drought.
Facing the potential crisis of its ally, the US response was to raise prices.
American grain merchants obviously did not miss this profit-making opportunity.
According to February statistics, the price of US long grain rice for export was $760 per ton, which increased to $800 per ton by March.
This is how the US treats its "allies."
In contrast, China’s actions were much more substantial.
When rice prices in the Philippines rose last year, China provided substantial aid in the form of fertilizers to support Philippine agricultural development, helping to mitigate the crisis.
However, due to strained relations between the two countries this year, it is unlikely that China will extend a helping hand to Marcos Jr.
With China alienated and unable to count on the US, Marcos Jr. has no choice but to attempt self-rescue.
On May 21, the Philippine House of Representatives passed an amendment to the "Rice Tariff Act," authorizing the Department of Agriculture to declare a state of emergency in the event of a rice supply shortage or abnormal price increases, allowing priority procurement of local rice and direct rice imports.
But the problem remains: if the Philippines had sufficient rice supply, the food crisis would not exist.
Moreover, the price of imported rice is beyond the Philippines' control.
Without China's aid this time, Marcos Jr.'s attempts to stabilize rice prices are likely to turn out to be just another empty promise to the public.
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