Rice retailers from major markets in Metro Manila have agreed on Friday to begin selling more affordably-priced regular and well-milled rice starting next week.

The commitment was made by market vendors during a consultative meeting convened last week by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. to investigate why retail prices of rice have not reflected the sharp reduction in rice tariffs.

In an earlier meeting, rice importers and traders informed Undersecretary for Operations Roger Navarro that they have reduced prices to around P38 per kilo. They attributed the high retail prices to the markups imposed by rice retailers.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 62, which lowered the tax on imported rice from 35 percent to 15 percent, effective July 8, in an effort to reduce rice prices. High rice prices have a significant impact on the consumer basket, which contributes to inflation. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, approximately P9 of every P100 spent by the average Filipino consumer goes toward rice—an amount that doubles to P18 for the poor.

Representatives of rice retailers from major markets in Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan City, Pasig City, Las Piñas City, Taguig City, and Pasay City told Department of Agriculture (DA) officials that a price markup of between P3 and P5 per kilo would provide them with a sufficient margin.

“They have agreed to sell well-milled rice for around P42 per kilo after we appealed to their sense of patriotism. We asked them to help ease the burden on the poor by providing more affordable rice,” said Undersecretary Navarro.

Since the tariff reduction in July, nearly 1.7 million metric tons of imported rice have arrived in the country through the first week of November, data from the Bureau of Customs showed. ###