Inquirer file photo/Richard A. Reyes
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Department of Agriculture (DA) will further reduce the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of imported rice to P49 a kilogram effective March 1 but only in selected areas, including Metro Manila.
According to the DA, it would take a more 鈥渟urgical鈥� approach to implementing the price reduction. The current price ceiling of imported rice is P52 per kg.
鈥淚n many provincial areas, we鈥檝e seen prices of imported rice already lower than the MSRP. So we will apply it more selectively,鈥� Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday.
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鈥淲e will review the numbers in the coming days to determine if there鈥檚 room to lower the MSRP further. As of now, there could be scope for additional reductions, but we鈥檒l have to see,鈥� he added.
This is the first time the price ceiling for imported rice will drop below the P50 per kg level since it was placed under the MSRP on Jan. 20.
鈥淭his was a noncoercive measure aimed at steering retail prices of imported rice to reflect the steady decline in world market prices and the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to slash rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent, effective last July,鈥� the DA said.
The MSRP for 5-percent broken imported rice was initially set at P58 per kg. It was further reduced to P55 per kg on Feb. 5 and then to P52 per kg on Feb. 15 in response to improving rice market conditions.
Before the imposition of the MSRP, retail prices of local regular milled and well-milled rice ranged between P38 and P53 per kg as of Jan. 13, based on the DA鈥檚 price monitoring. Imported regular milled and well-milled rice, on the other hand, retailed from P40 to P54 per kg.
Even before that, 5 percent of broken imported rice was being sold from P62 to P64 per kg, according to the DA.
But as of Feb. 25, Metro Manila markets were selling local regular milled and well-milled rice from a low of P38 per kg to a high of P52 per kg. Imported regular and well-milled rice were priced at P36 to P46 per kg.
Projection
Tiu Laurel had projected that imported rice prices would decline below P50 per kg last month as long as world market prices remained stable, noting that the maximum landed cost stood at $550 per metric ton (MT) for 5-percent broken rice.
The DA said the landed cost has since then decreased by about 12 percent to $490 per MT as of Feb. 21.
Agricultural group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) welcomed the DA鈥檚 latest move, saying the country was inching closer to reaching the 鈥渋deal price鈥� of P40 to P45 per kg of imported rice.
鈥淚t is the right time to call for the repeal of [Executive Order No. 62] and generate revenues from imported rice that is earmarked to directly support our rice farmers,鈥� Sinag executive director Jayson Cainglet said in a statement.
But for the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), the government鈥檚 鈥渦nlimited rice importation鈥� policy, coupled with the rice tariff reduction, was to blame for the 鈥渟evere鈥� decline in palay prices in many parts of the country.
Low buying price
In a statement, the group said that farmers in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, had to postpone the sale of their palay produce because of traders鈥� low buying prices.
The FFF also said that prices for new palay harvests in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, have dipped to as low as P13 per kg.
Clean-and-dry palay was priced at P19 per kg, with traders reportedly hesitating to buy stocks due to the influx of imported rice in the market.
鈥淎t the same time, the National Food Authority has not been procuring clean-and-dry palay from farmers at the announced price of P23 since its warehouses are still full of stocks from previous harvests,鈥� it added.
Citing data from the Bureau of Customs, the FFF said some 331,000 MT of imported rice arrived in January on top of almost 4.8 million MT of imported rice recorded in 2024, resulting in a supply glut coinciding with the start of the dry season harvest.
鈥淲e urge the DA to address the emerging problems of farmers with the same vigor and persistence with which it has been cutting rice prices for consumers,鈥� FFF national manager Raul Montemayor said.