MANILA – To further reduce rice retail prices and benefit Filipino consumers in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday it is eyeing to reduce the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for 5 percent broken imported rice on July 1.
The rice MSRP was last adjusted on March 31, after a series of “gradual” reductions that began from PHP58 per kg. in January.
In a Viber message, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said they would reduce the MSRP to PHP43 per kg. of 5 percent broken rice from the current PHP45 per kg.
He said the attempt could further drag down the retail prices of rice in local markets and decrease the prevailing prices of other rice varieties.
“(The target is) lower PHP40s for 5 percent broken, mid-PHP30s for 25 percent broken, and lower PHP30s for 100 percent broken,” he said in an interview.
Tiu Laurel disclosed their plan even as rice inflation was logged at -12.8 percent in May, slower than -10.9 percent in April, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
As of June 4, the prevailing prices of imported premium and well-milled rice in Metro Manila are PHP45 per kg., and PHP40.5 per kg. for imported regular-milled rice.
The price per kg. of premium imported rice, meanwhile, ranges from PHP43 to PHP50; imported well-milled rice from PHP38 to PHP48; and imported regular milled rice from PHP35 to PHP45.
The prices per kg. of premium local rice ranges from PHP44 to PHP60; local well-milled rice, PHP38 to PHP52; and local regular-milled rice, PHP30 to PHP45; with prevailing prices set at PHP50, PHP45, and PHP40, respectively.
The DA earlier attributed the persistent downward trend of rice prices to various government interventions, including the setting of MSRP on imported rice, the launch of the PHP20-per-kg. rice under the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na,” the availability of Rice-for-All (RFA) varieties, and the declaration of a food security emergency for rice.
The price per kg. of the DA’s RFA5 or 5 percent broken was earlier set at PHP43; PHP35 for RFA25 or 25 percent broken; and PHP33 for RFA100 or 100 percent broken.
Tiu Laurel, meanwhile, assured that the rice MSRP reduction would not take its toll on the buying price of local harvest amid the tail-end of the harvest season. (PNA)