The Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the maximum suggested retail price for 5-percent broken imported rice will remain at P43 per kilogram for now, pending the completion of procedures for a higher import tariff.
The January price cap will stay in place because the current duty remains at 15 percent, Tiu Laurel said. He said the temporary hold aims to avoid market confusion while the government finalizes the adjustment.
A planned increase in rice import duties to 20 percent from 15 percent is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 16, 2026. Any changes to the suggested retail price will be considered only after the higher tariff is implemented.
Tiu Laurel said the government should complete the formal process before raising the tariff and that price adjustments must follow policy actions rather than precede them.
The decision arrives as the government seeks to stabilize palay prices following years of downward pressure caused by heavy imports. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously ordered a four-month moratorium on rice importation starting in September to support farmgate prices during the peak wet-season harvest that began in October.
Rice imports reached about 4.8 million metric tons in 2024, which pushed palay prices to lows of P8 per kilogram in certain areas before the ban was enacted.
