Rice retailers fail to follow P55 max SRP – DA
Credit to Author: Bella Cariaso| Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — Many retailers have failed to follow the maximum suggested retail price (SRP) of P55 per kilo of imported premium rice, according to the Department of Agriculture.
But the DA will be lenient and allow retailers to sell their old stocks, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said yesterday at a press briefing.
“Retailers want to sell their old stocks procured at higher prices. We are OK with that and once the new rice supply arrives, they are expected to immediately comply with the max SRP,” De Mesa said.
The max SRP enforced yesterday in Metro Manila markets will take effect nationwide on Feb. 15.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. issued a reduced max SRP, from P58 to P55 per kilo, amid the continued drop of rice prices in the world market.
Rice prices in the country have continued to rise despite a 20-percent tariff cut.
Reducing the max SRP to P49 per kilo is achievable by March, De Mesa said.
The DA, he said, is coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure compliance with the max SRP.
Meanwhile, the retail price of imported rice remains at about P60 per kilo despite the max SRP, based on the DA’s monitoring of Metro Manila markets.
Imported special rice’s retail price ranged between P52 and P60 per kilo; imported premium rice, between P50 and P58 per kilo; imported well-milled rice, between P44 and P45 per kilo and imported regular-milled rice, between P38 and P46 per kilo.
Reselling the National Food Authority (NFA)’s rice stocks is covered by the election spending prohibition in the May midterm polls, former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor said yesterday.
Local government units (LGUs) will resell NFA rice stocks to constituents at P35 per kilo following the declaration of a food security emergency amid rising rice prices.
The Omnibus Election Code prohibits LGUs from releasing or spending public money for any purpose 45 days before polls start unless authorized by the Commission on Elections, Montemayor told The STAR.
NFA rice stocks will be available in the markets within the week or next week, De Mesa said.
Cargo trucks will be provided by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to assist with the delivery of rice supplies nationwide.
The transport aid will focus on areas experiencing shortages or extraordinary price increases, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said.
Inter-agency collaboration is important in responding to the rice crisis, Mendoza said.
Climate risk mapping needs to be scaled up to help farmers combat extreme weather that has induced billions in nationwide agricultural losses, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
Climate change could reduce Philippine rice yields by 10 to 15 percent by 2040, based on a 2023 Food and Agriculture Organization report.
Rice farms across Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Bicol were devastated last year by six successive tropical cyclones between October and mid-November, PhilRice climate risk mapping lead Leylani Juliano recalled.
Over P45 million in agricultural damage were reported in Aurora province before the six cyclones, he noted. Of the amount, rice farmers recorded P9 million worth of damage. – Christine Boton