MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday shared good news for consumers in Metro Manila, saying they could buy regular and well-milled rice at P43 per kilogram as soon as next week,
The DA made the announcement following meetings with local market association heads.
“Basically, we agreed na iyong kanilang kita dapat (that their profit) for regular and well-milled rice ay (should be) between P3 to P5,” DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said in an interview.
Given the agreed profit margin, he said the price per kilogram of regular and well-milled rice should not exceed P45, as wholesale prices range from P34 to P38 from importers and traders.
According to DA monitoring, the prevailing average price of regular and well-milled rice in the National Capital Region (NCR) remains at the “unacceptable” level of P50 per kilogram.
With this agreement, the DA hopes that the lower price will not be limited to select stores. “For regular and well-milled rice, it should not really exceed P45 per kilogram in the market,” De Mesa said.
He also cited plans to directly link market heads with importers or traders as their suppliers, along with intensified monitoring in local markets to prevent profiteering.
Beginning next week, as part of the agreement, the DA will conduct daily monitoring of 30 markets across the NCR. “Maghihigpit tayo,” De Mesa said. (We will be strict.)
The DA is set to inspect local markets in Quezon City and Manila to ensure compliance with the agreement.
In addition to lower rice prices, the agreement also aims to establish coordination on the possibility of setting up Kadiwa sites in select markets.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier ordered the DA to expand the sale of the P29 and Rice for All programs in more Kadiwa ng Pangulo stores nationwide.
The P29 program refers to the sale of National Food Authority (NFA) rice at P29 per kilogram to the vulnerable sector, including members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities (PWDs); while the Rice for All program sells mixed local and imported commercial well-milled rice at P43 per kilogram.
Overall, the DA expressed confidence in making cheaper rice more available to Filipinos despite the effects of natural calamities, with the aid of rice imports coming in at reduced tariffs. Marcos has ordered a tariff reduction on imported rice from 35 percent to 15 percent.
As of October, the DA reported 3.7 million metric tons of imported rice. (PNA)
