Consumers may expect a gradual softening of rice prices in the coming weeks following the ongoing wet harvest cropping in the country’s rice-producing regions.
Millers and traders saw a P2 decline in the price of palay or paddy rice in the past weeks. Prices at the farmgate dropped to P23 per kilo (kg) from P25/kg, as harvest season sets in.
Meanwhile, the head of the farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), Rosendo So, is calling for the abolition of the National Food Authority (NFA) over what he said was the agency’s preference to import rice rather than buy from Filipino farmers.
In a statement, So said the latest showcase of the NFA’s skewed preference for imported rice was the ongoing negotiations with India for rice procurement.
So also questioned the NFA’s decision to source Philippine rice stocks from abroad when it could buy rice at a much lower rate in the country’s other agricultural regions. He cited Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) data showing average buying rates for a kilogram of domestically produced palay was between P18.50 to P19.
The NFA can always look for lower rice prices, according to So. He also scored the NFA for justifying importation by announcing it has only 46,000 metric tons of rice left in its inventory, which is good for just 1.3 days.
On local rice prices, the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholder Movement (PRISM), a group of rice millers, traders and importers, reported that the price of “laon” rice or old rice stock went down by P2/kg.
Traders noted there is not much difference in the price of regular-milled and well-milled rice, which cost P55/kg and P57/kg, respectively. A 50 kg sack of rice costs traders P2,500 and with the mark-up of retailers, the price of commercial rice is estimated at a range of P55 to P57/kg.
Despite this, PRISM maintained there are cheaper commercial rice varieties available at P48/kg. The group has allocated a cheaper rice variety that costs P38/kg only for poor families.
However, the group can only sell up to 5 kilos of rice per family per day.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Agency (PSA) showed paddy rice output went 3.4 percent to 9 million metric tons (MT) in the first semester of 2023, from 8.7 million MT during the same period in 2022.
Actual output in the first half is higher than the PRISM forecast of 8.7 million MT that was used by the DA in its rice outlook.
Agriculture undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian is optimistic that full year 2023 output may surpass the 20 million MT mark, given bumper harvest in the first semester.
So also scored the NFA for justifying importation by announcing it has only 46,000 metric tons of rice left in its inventory, which is good for just 1.3 days.
This is the fault of the NFA, So said, since it has not been buying locally-produced rice to add to its stock.
He recalled the NFA saying at a congressional hearing that it still has P8.5 billion left for rice procurement, which was enough to buy palay at P19 per kilo.
So said the amount of palay that can be bought with P8.5 billion
translates into 290,789 metric tons of rice which is more than enough to boost the country’s buffer stock.
The Philippines’ daily consumption rate of rice is 35,000 metric tons.
