THE government is considering to put a price cap on imported rice at P50 per kilogram, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told reporters on Monday.
“I‘m having my legal team go through [it] and consulting other departments,” Tiu Laurel said. “Now that we are in the midst of the [rice] harvest season, we will be imposing this strictly to lower the price.”
The country imports rice since domestic production cannot cope with high consumption of a growing population. The challenges of limited suitable land and vulnerability to typhoons and El Niño add to the problem.
Reports from the field said imported rice was being sold for P60/kg, which Tiu Laurel said should cost only between P45 to P48/kg.
The price hike is partly due to the war in Iran which has caused freight costs to rise, Tiu Laurel said, citing the case of Vietnam, whose freight charges have increased from $20 to almost $40 per metric ton.
The DA is selling imported rice at no profit between P45/kg and P48/kg at Food Terminal Inc. and Planters Products outlets. The initiative started in Metro Manila in February.
It will continue next week in Cebu and in other major cities across the country.
Rice harvest season, which starts this month until April, should temper prices and even drop, if minimally, Tiu Laurel said.
However, imposing a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on local rice would be difficult, since it might negatively affect palay (unhusked rice) prices in the middle of the harvest season, Tiu Laurel explained.
“For now, let‘s look at market price movements as the harvest continues,” he said.
In a visit with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Nueva Ecija last week, Tiu Laurel said he saw fresh, wet palay selling for P24 to P25/kg, which could have slightly risen now due to high fuel prices.
Still, the harvest season may cause farmgate palay prices to go down, but hopefully not too much since farmers need to earn from their produce, Tiu Laurel said.
The DA continues to monitor the prices of local rice across the country, he noted, adding that the agency may intervene if costs remain high.