The Department of Agriculture said a retail price of around P42 per kilo for well-milled rice represents a “happy balance” that meets both the needs of Filipino consumers and farmers.
“While we aim to drive down food costs, we are also mindful of the needs of our primary stakeholders—our farmers and their families, who work tirelessly in the fields but have not fully reaped the benefits of their labor,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr.
Secretary Tiu Laurel also noted that, except for Vietnam, where production costs are significantly lower, the retail prices of well-milled rice in the Philippines are more affordable compared to those in other rice-producing countries such as Thailand and China.
As of last week, the price of well-milled rice in the country ranges between P45.00 and P52.00 a kilo while those in Thailand ranges from P51.95 to P132.75 and in China the same quality rice ranges between P44.47 and P88.86 a kilo.
“I think well-milled rice around the P42 per kilo will provide a happy balance between our goal of ensuring our farmers get a decent return for their hard work and consumers have access to affordably-price food, especially rice,” said Secretary Tiu Laurel.
In some rice-producing areas in the country, anticipation that retail prices will fall further are being factored by rice traders to drive down palay prices.
As a rule of thumb, the buying price of palay per kilo is usually doubled to arrive at the price of rice in the market.
Rice is the country’s main food staple and for every P100 the average consumer spends, around P10 is used to buy rice. For the bottom 30 percent of income households, a segment of the population where most farmers and fisherfolk belong, around P20 for every P100 are spent for rice.
Secretary Tiu Laurel said the DA also considers the movement rice in the international market along with movement of the peso’s exchange rate.
While global prices of rice has fallen to below USD500 a ton in October from more than USD630 a ton in January, the peso over the same 10-month period has sharply depreciated to P58 against the U.S. dollar from P48. ###
