DA to lower rice max SRP to P49/kilo by March

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'We will review the numbers in the coming days to determine if there's room to lower the MSRP further,' says Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday, February 26, that it would lower the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of imported rice to P49/kilo by March.

This is a P9 decrease from the original MSRP of P58/kilo set in January.

“We will review the numbers in the coming days to determine if there’s room to lower the MSRP further,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday, February 26.

The DA implemented the MSRP in a bid to lower rice prices, alongside other government efforts of cutting down tariffs, declaring a food security emergency on rice, and selling rice stocks from the National Food Authority to local governments.

The agency already predicted that the MSRP would go down since its implementation in January given the downward trend in global rice prices.

Agricultural group Sinag welcomed the lowering of MSRP on imported rice, saying it’s nearing the ideal price range of P40-P45/kilo.

“At the current price of $380/metric ton of 5% broken Vietnamese rice, imported rice should further go below P40/kilo,” Jayson Cainglet, executive director of Sinag, said in response to DA’s move.

Cainglet said global prices have “plummeted significantly, dropping by $146/MT from $568 on July 10, 2024, to $380/MT this month.”

Despite this positive response, Sinag pointed out that the MSRP and the food emergency declaration are needed government interventions due to the “dismal failure of EO62 to tame rice prices.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 62 in 2024, cutting down tariffs from 35% to 15%.

Farmers’ group Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) criticized EO 62 on Wednesday, blaming the tariff cut for the “severe drop in palay prices in many parts of the country.”

According to FFF, farmers in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, postponed selling palay because of traders’ low buying prices. The price of newly harvested palay in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, went as low as P13/kilo, said FFF.

The Philippines hit a record high in 2024, importing almost 4.8 million metric tons. The DA attributed this spike in imports to El Niño and decreased local rice production.

FFF said the government must restore tariffs to 35%. If this happens, price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam may rise to P33 per kilo and may be sold at P48/kilo given added costs. This is still below the current MSRP of P52/kilo, FFF pointed out.

“We urge DA to address the emerging problems of farmers with the same vigor and persistence with which it has been cutting rice prices for consumers,” said Raul Montemayor, national manager of FFF. – Rappler.com