RICE PRICES at government-subsidized food markets will drop by as much as P3 starting on Wednesday, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The DA said it will decrease the price of Rice for All (RFA) goods in Kadiwa markets — which are farm-to-market stores supported by the government — P2 to P3, in line with declining global rice prices and the upcoming peak of the rice harvest season.
Starting Feb. 12, the price of RFA5 — rice with no more than 5% broken-grain content — will be reduced to P43 per kilo from P45 per kilo, the DA said in a statement.
RFA25 will be priced at P35/kg, down from P38 and RFA100 — white rice consisting of 100% broken grains — will sell for P33/kg, down from P36, it added.
“The KADIWA ng Pangulo program will continue to provide rice at P29 per kilo for vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, solo parents, and indigent individuals,” the DA said.
As of Monday, imported premium rice sold for P48 to P58/kg in Metro Manila markets, according to DA price monitors.
It said imported well-milled rice sold for P44 to P45/kg while imported regular-milled rice fetched P38 to P46/kg.
Domestically grown premium rice sold for P46 to P58/kg, with well-milled at P42 to P52/kg. The range for domestic regular-milled rice was P38 to P45/kg.
The DA said the National Food Authority (NFA) “has sufficient funding to support farmers and uphold its mandated rice buffer stock, now equivalent to 15 days of national consumption under the revised Rice Tariffication Law.”
The DA said starting Feb. 15, the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice will be lowered to P52 per kilo from P55, and reduced further to P49 by March 1, to “mitigate potential market disruptions.”
The DA has declared a national emergency for rice, citing an “extraordinary” spike in the prices of the staple grain despite lower import tariffs.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel, Jr. said on Monday that the DA is set to release NFA rice onto the market by next week, with over 50 local government units expressing interest in purchasing the low-cost rice stocks.
Under Republic Act No. 12708 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, the Secretary of Agriculture can declare a food security emergency in case of supply shortages or extraordinary price spikes.
The DA added that economic managers will soon review Executive Order No. 62 to assess whether rice tariffs need to be adjusted.
It said Mr. Laurel is “only inclined to recommend a revision of the current tariff level if retail prices of imported rice ease to the P42-P45 per kilo range.”
The DA said it is also eyeing an MSRP on pork to address an excessive gap between farmgate and retail prices, describing retail pork prices of P400 per kilo or higher as “unreasonable.”
A decision regarding the possible MSRP for pork is expected by the end of February, “with the aim of curbing profiteering,” the DA said.
“We are conducting a thorough analysis of the pork value chain,” Mr. Laurel said. “If evidence of profiteering emerges, we will not hesitate to institute an MSRP for pork.”
The farmgate price of hogs was at P240–P250 per kilo. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza