The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has predicted that the Philippines will become the world's top rice importer, surpassing China. The USDA's latest report predicts Philippine rice importation to reach 3.8 million metric tons (mmt) in the 2023-2024 season, while China's imports will decrease to 3.5 mmt. The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) agrees with the USDA's forecast, as domestic supply is not meeting demand. The Philippines is delaying rice importation due to increasing prices resulting from India and Vietnam's rice export bans. The report noted that global rice prices have reached their highest in 15 years since India's July export ban on non-basmati white rice. Thailand and Vietnam are the top two sources of imported rice in the Philippines in 2023, with rice imports reaching 2.33 mmt.