30 Disyembre,2024 Lunes
1 day to 2025, Happy New Year
Happy 21st anniversary, Servants of God in Jesus Christ Christian Ministries Incorporated, Rev. Nestor Sadim, Rev. Manuel Soliman, Director Jorge Lopez
No to Divorce!!!
Get well soon Nanay Angelita Santiago-Lopez
No to SOGIE bill
PM for any hospital discharge problem
ABS 2025
DA to resolve rice branding issues in January
By Nidz Godino
“We expect this new labeling will be implemented as soon as possible…as a matter of fact, the secretary already called for meeting to discuss issue and immediately release guidelines on this,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. will lead meeting on Jan. 3,2025 that will finalize a plan to remove branding on rice after he said that retailers and traders are intentionally confusing consumers with premium rice imports to justify high prices of grains.
De Mesa said Tiu Laurel wants to standardize labeling of rice so that consumers will not be shortchanged by unscrupulous traders.
De Mesa said Tiu Laurel personally uncovered during his inspection of various markets in Metro Manila problem of branding of imported rice.
“He discovered, during inspection of particular imported rice he is very familiar with, landed cost of imported rice is only P40 per kilo but it is sold in the market for more than P60 per kilo…profit margin is so big,” he said.
He stressed that based on consultation of Department of Agriculture (DA) with traders and importers, they have already profited if at least P6 to P8 per kilo will be added to landed cost of imported staple.
“If it’s landed cost P40 per kilo, retail price should only be P48, so one of the solutions is to remove branding on premium and special rice,” he explained.
He added that imported rice is classified through degree of brokenness.
“It’s five percent for premium…there are also 15 percent, 25 percent and 100 percent broken, but when sold in the market, it is not being treated as 100 percent broken and instead it is being treated by brand. ..traders usually label rice as premium and special,” de Mesa said.
In the past, DA’s focus was only regular and well-milled rice as ordinary consumers often buy them since the two are cheaper.
Tiu Laurel said locally-produced rice will be exempted from this rule to protect Filipino farmers and traders.
Meeting will include Bureau of Plant Industry and National Food Authority (NFA) to assess national rice situation.
De Mesa added DA sees retail price of rice to further go down in 2025 amid downward trend in international prices.
“We are expecting that by January, price of imported rice in world market will further decrease…hopefully, this will be reflected in the local market,” he said.
De Mesa further stated that Tiu Laurel has asked Bureau of Internal Revenue to examine books of importers and traders to determine if they are paying right taxes.
Tiu Laurel has said DA can invoke food security emergency under amended Rice Tariffication Law, would allow release of buffer stocks from NFA to stabilize prices.
He added that DA is exploring option of allowing government corporations like Food Terminal Inc. to import significant quantities of rice to compete directly with private importers.
Tiu Laurel also ordered DA legal division to study whether provisions of Consumer Price Act could be activated to deal with seeming acts of profiteering.
Tiu Laurel noted that despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s reduction of rice tariff to 15 percent from 35 percent in July, prices of rice have remained stubbornly high, frustrating both government and consumers.
He also asked Department of Trade and Industry to assist in monitoring prices of rice in markets and groceries.
Farmers’ group Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) national manager Raul Montemayor warned that plan of DA to remove branding on rice will further cause chaos on pricing of staple.
“If you remove brand, how can consumers determine kind of rice they are procuring?” Montemayor asked.
Montemayor was reacting to announcement of Tiu Laurel that plans to remove branding on rice after he said t retailers and traders are intentionally confusing consumers with premium rice imports to justify high prices of grains.
“DA are just looking for reason why retail price of rice remains high…they failed to pinpoint cause…removing branding of rice their solution, it may only further cause chaos in pricing grains,” he said.
“They are pressured to address high retail prices but forgot to help local farmers,” he further stated.
Montemayor said it should be economic managers who should be made accountable after Executive Order 62 failed to bring down retail price of rice despite decision to lower tariff on imported rice to 15 percent from previous 35 percent.
“We are telling DA it did not create problem… economic managers were behind lower tariff, which failed to address high retail price of rice but it is DA who is finding solution…they should instead focus on problems of the farmers, easy to pinpoint who is manipulating retail price of rice as once imported rice arrives, importer declares how much he spent to bring in imported rice… Bureau of Customs has records…if importer sells to wholesaler, it has receipt from BIR,Montemayor added.
.Montemayor added that wholesalers also have receipts of how much they sold imported grains to retailers.
“There are receipts so it is easy to determine who is manipulating retail price of rice…as of now, retailers are being blamed, but based on data from Philippine Statistics Authority, profiteering comes from importers and wholesalers and not retailers,” he added.
Based on monitoring of DA in Metro Manila markets, retail price of imported regular milled rice is sold for as high as P45 per kilo; imported well-milled rice, as high as P56 per kilo; imported premium rice, as high as P60 per kilo and imported special rice, as high as P64 per kilo.
Meanwhile, former senator Francis Pangilinan has expressed full support for government’s plan to declare “food security emergency” as part of efforts to curb prices of rice, primary driver of inflation and burden to many Filipinos.
Pangilinan said government must exhaust all possible measures to lower rice prices.
“We fully support government’s actions aimed at easing burden of our countrymen who are already suffering from high price of rice,” he said, referring to Tiu Laurel’s plan to declare food security emergency.
Pangilinan served as food security czar from June 2014 to September 2015 under administration of the late president Benigno Aquino III. During his tenure, he reduced rice prices up to P3 per kilo by interventions that rice inflation reduced from 15 percent to 0.8 percent in span of one year. This, in turn, brought down nationwide inflation to its lowest rate in 20 years.
ISKUP! 