The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said it will launch a trial sale of blended imported and local rice to keep costs reasonable amid the oil shock from the Iran war.
At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that based on computations, rice prices could soar to as high as P62 per kilogram in September due to an increase in production inputs such as fertilizers.
Some fertilizer varieties are now selling at P3,000 per 50-kilogram bag, Agriculture Spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said.
“After the harvest in September, since the price of inputs is high, farmgate [prices] could [also] go up ... now it’s P24 [per kilogram], it could go up to P27 or P30. [And then] the market price could go as high as P60,” De Mesa said. “The suggestion is blending 60 percent of the cheap imported rice with 40 percent of the expensive local rice, so that the price will go down.”
Global prices of rice are currently at a 20-year low, De Mesa noted.
