The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced it would further reduce by as much as P3 per kilo the retail prices of rice sold under the KADIWA ng Pangulo’s Rice-for-All (RFA) program.
In a statement on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the price reduction “reflects both a drop in global rice prices and an increase in domestic supply as the local harvest season gets underway.”
The DA chief said henceforth, RFA5 rice will be priced at P43 per kilo, RFA25 at P35, and RFA100 at P33.
At present, RFA5—comprising rice with no more than 5% broken grains—is sold at P45 per kilo, while RFA25 is sold at P38 a kilo, and RFA100 retails for P36 per kilo.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Secretary assured that the KADIWA ng Pangulo program will continue to provide rice at P29 per kilo for vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, solo parents, and individuals from indigent sectors.
Additionally, Tiu Laurel said that the National Food Authority (NFA) will continue to procure palay from local farms at a price of P21–P23 per kilo despite the decline of rice prices in the international market.
He explained that the government is willing to pay farmers the premium to ensure “fair compensation for their harvests.”
Tiu Laurel also assured that the NFA has sufficient funding to support farmers and uphold its mandated rice buffer stock, now equivalent to 15 days of national consumption under the revised Rice Tariffication Law.
Furthermore, the DA chief said the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of imported rice will be lowered to P52 per kilo from P55 a kilo and reduced further to P49 by March 1.
This gradual approach aims to mitigate potential market disruptions, he explained.
“The price reductions align with global trends in the rice market, as well as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision in July to slash rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent,” he noted.
Tiu Laurel also disclosed that economic managers of the Marcos administration will soon review Executive Order 62 to assess whether current rice tariff rates need to be adjusted again.
He said, however, that he is only inclined to recommend a revision of the current tariff level if retail prices of imported rice ease to the P42-P45 per kilo range.
On Monday, Tiu Laurel the impending arrival of fresh rice imports will further ease supply pressures, paving the way for a reduction in domestic retail prices.
“Hopefully, they have already purchased new stocks from Vietnam, Myanmar, or Cambodia at lower prices… That’s why the MSRP by March 1 is P49,” Tiu Laurel said during a briefing in Malacañang.