DA ‘forced’ to sell P42/kg of rice in major public markets
Metro Manila, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to launch its program of selling P42 per kilogram (kg) of rice in major public markets amid “unusually high” prices of the grain.
The DA made the statement on Thursday, Nov. 28 — two days after a joint committee hearing where lawmakers expressed bafflement with the agency on why the elevated prices remain even after July’s tariff cut.
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In the statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that while the agency has tried to avoid such a move, “progress has been slow” on the part of importers and retailers to introduce price reductions.
“Since they haven’t significantly lowered prices for well-milled and regular-milled rice, we are now forced to step in and offer Kadiwa rice,” Laurel said. “This will allow us to supply consumers directly and compete with retailers.”
The DA said it is in talks with “importers who committed to supply Kadiwa rice at P42 per kilo.”
Agriculture spokesperson Arnel de Mesa told reporters on Friday that the DA would first roll out the program, which was called “Rice for All,” to Metro Manila markets.
The agency has yet to finalize specific guidelines, including the starting date and until when it would last in public markets.
“Later on siguro kung makita natin ‘yong market nagre-respond na rin na talagang iayos ‘yong presyo according sa tamang presyuhan, at hindi na kailangan ‘yong Kadiwa do’n sa mga merkado natin, ibalik sa dating setup, well and good. Tingnan natin,” De Mesa said.
[Translation: Later on if we would see the market correcting its prices according to the right price range, and if the Kadiwa rice would not be needed in the market and go back to the previous set-up, well and good. Let’s see.]
Rice still not cheaper
According to the DA’s Wednesday price monitoring, only a few Metro Manila markets are selling P40 per kg for both local and imported regular-milled rice. Prices for the variety are sold as high as P48 (local) and P51 (imported).
Well-milled rice, on the other hand, retailed at P42 to P53 for local and P45 to P54 for imported.
Laurel said the prevailing retail prices of the commodity were “unusually high.”
“I have actual price bulletins of wholesale imported rice, and it’s really only at P37 to P38 per kilo. With lower tariffs and declining international prices, there's no reason for the continued high retail prices,” Laurel said.
In July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the tariff reduction on rice imports to 15% from 35% hoping to lower prices of the grain.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, while there’s a decline month-on-month, it’s only in minimal amounts.
But the DA chief said if there were no tariff cut, “rice prices would surely be higher.”
The National Economic and Development Authority is set to submit its report to Marcos on its review of the reduced rice tariff.
DA moves this year
The government is under pressure to address the problem, as Marcos ran his presidential campaign promising P20 per kg of rice.
The Agriculture department started the “Rice for All” program in August, initially selling well-milled rice at P45 sourced from importers and local traders.
It followed the subsidized rice program that sells ₱29 per kg of aging stocks of the National Food Authority in Kadiwa stores meant for poor households and other vulnerable sectors.
The DA told the joint committee hearing on Tuesday that it might need P50 billion yearly if the agency were asked to deliver the P29 per kg to “everybody’s plate.”
