31 Marso, 2025 Lunes
Success Month March in iskup
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election campaign period, gun ban in effect
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PM for any hospital discharge problem
Imported rice SRP now is P45 max
By Nidz Godino
“Strategy of implementing EO 62 largely failed as importers and traders pocketed most of savings from tariff cuts instead of passing them on to consumers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said to ensure retailers’ compliance, will lead market inspection in Quezon City today ,first day of effectivity of P45 per kilo maximum suggested retail price (SRP) on imported rice.
Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque, city officials and police will accompany Tiu Laurel during market visit.
Max SRP on imported rice started with P58 per kilo on Jan. 20, followed by P55 per kilo on Feb. 5, P52 per kilo on Feb. 15 and P49 per kilo on March 1.
Tiu Laurel was forced to implement max SRP on grains amid failure of Executive Order No. 62 to significantly bring down retail price. EO 62 lowered tariff on imported staple to 15 percent from previous 35 percent.
The agriculture secretary noted that retail price of imported rice already went down by P19 per kilo since its implementation as grains were sold for as high as P64 per kilo prior to max SRP.
According to him, global rice prices have dropped to their lowest levels in over two years, with some varieties now priced below $380 per metric ton.
Based on monitoring of DA in Metro Manila markets, retail price of imported special rice ranged between P55 and P60 per kilo; imported premium rice, between P48 and P51 per kilo; imported well milled rice, between P43 and P46 per kilo; and imported regular milled rice, between P33 and P45 per kilo.
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) board chairman and former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor has blamed unlimited entry of cheap imports as primary reason for drastic drop in palay prices during ongoing dry season harvest.
Montemayor noted that farmers are forced to sell freshly harvested palay for as low as P14 per kilo.
Rice imports in 2024 ballooned to 4.8 million metric tons.
“Palay traders are anticipating prices of imported rice will continue to fall, so they are playing safe by buying low from farmers,” Montemayor added.
Montemayor reiterated farmers’ groups call to return tariff rate to 35 percent, saying it will not unduly raise rice prices given downtrend in import prices.
Tariff Commission conducted hearing on March 28 to discuss petition to scrap EO 62.
At the same time, Montemayor asked DA to address drop in palay prices instead of belying reports of low prices and farmer suicides.
“It is sad that DA, instead of commiserating with plight of farmers, has blamed them for allegedly spreading fake news,” Montemayor said.
He challenged DA officials to go out of their air-conditioned offices and talk directly to rice farmers.
Montemayor criticized apparent unpreparedness of DA in helping farmers during current harvest, as evidenced by inability of National Food Authority (NFA) to absorb farmers’ crops due to congestion of agency’s warehouses, lack of drying and other post-harvest facilities, and limited procurement budget.
After rice, Tiu Laurel said high retail prices of chicken and eggs are next on his agenda.
“It’s normal that retail price of other commodities will increase because there is shift in markets…let’s say for pork, once there is increase, consumers will shift to chicken, fish… main cause but of course we are still studying,.. I am coordinating with United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA),” he said.
Based on DA’s monitoring in Metro Manila markets, retail price of chicken has reached as high as P240 per kilo while retail price of eggs ranged between P7 and P9 per piece.
“I am looking at trends first but more or less, for pork and rice, retail price has already gone down…we are looking into it, we are coordinating with UBRA,” Tiu Laurel said.
Tiu Laurel said as early as January, he has been warning on possible increase in retail price of eggs.
He added that chicken layers were affected by diseases and hot temperatures.
“There is also big demand because of elections but we should be okay,” he noted,
Tiu Laurel said eggs would not reach P10 per piece as farmgate price ranged between P6 and P6.20 per piece.
Meanwhile, Watchdog group Bantay Bigas said government failed to address hunger in the country amid sharp increase in incidents of involuntary hunger in the past three months.
Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo said latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, said at least 27.2 percent of Filipino families or approximately 7.5 million households experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months, exposed government’s failure to ensure food security.
SWS said country’s hunger rate sharply increased this month, reaching its highest level since height of COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
“Government continues to opene agriculture to foreign control and depend on food importation, resulting in worsening lack of food security for people,” Estavillo said.
“Income of farmers is not enough to support their daily food requirement… cost of food has been increasing but wages of workers and farmers remained low… only shows economic and agriculture programs of Marcos government are not effective,” she added.
Estavillo pushed for urgent and decisive actions, including direct government support for farmers through production subsidies, higher farmgate prices and free irrigation.
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