MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said rice import arrivals will help ensure a stable supply and prices of retail rice in the country amid the looming strong El Niño.
According to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), as of May 28, total arrivals of imported rice since January has reached 2.22 million metric tons (MT), higher than the 1.93 million MT logged for the same period in 2025.
In a press conference, Agriculture spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the volume of arrivals will help support local production, considering its potential decline due to extreme weather conditions.
“Considering ‘yung inflation natin atsaka mas mura ‘yung (Considering the inflation and cheaper price of) imported rice, I guess that’s enough reason to justify bakit mataas ‘yung imports ngayon (why the volume of import is higher),” he said.
“Kailangan natin din in preparation for any problem din na magkaroon tayo ng malaking epekto ng El Niño (We also need this in preparation for any problem, in case there’s a huge effect due to El Niño).”
The DA estimates that a strong El Niño will lower rice production by at least 700,000 metric tons (MT).
“Sa El Niño lang iyon. Kung ico-consider natin ‘yung mga bagyo (That’s just from El Niño. If we are to consider typhoons), that’s an additional 500,000 to 600,000 MT losses,” de Mesa added, citing the average annual production losses in palay (unhusked rice) harvest due to typhoons.
Local rice SRP
The DA, meanwhile, assured continued support for local palay farmers through higher suggested retail prices for local rice.
The agency is eyeing to impose a PHP53 per kilogram SRP for local rice within the month, higher than the PHP50 per kilogram price cap for 5 percent broken imported rice.
“Kailangan bigyan natin ng premium ‘yung paghihirap ng mga magsasaka kasi kapag papapabain natin iyon, maapektuhan ‘yung farmgate (We need to put a premium on the hardship of our farmers because if we further reduce the price, farmgate prices will be affected),” de Mesa said.
“We don’t want to do that kasi again mahalaga ‘yung planting intention ng ating magsasaka (because the planting intention of our farmers is important).”
As of Tuesday, premium imported rice in Metro Manila sells at PHP46 to PHP62 per kilo, while the price of imported well-milled rice ranges from PHP48 to PHP50 per kilo, and imported regular-milled rice at PHP42 to PHP43 per kilo, according to the DA Bantay Presyo (Price Watch).
Local premium rice is at PHP48 to PHP60 per kilo, while the prevailing prices of local well-milled rice and regular milled rice are both at PHP50 per kilo. (PNA)