Manila: A new maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice may be released soon, while retail prices are expected to be tamed within the month, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
According to Philippines News Agency, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. stated that the new MSRP will take into account international rice prices and current exchange rates. During an ambush interview on the sidelines of the induction of the new officers of the Economic Journalists Association of Philippines (EJAP) on Monday night, Tiu Laurel mentioned that the department is working to establish the correct price. The announcement of a new MSRP is expected soon after a thorough evaluation.
Tiu Laurel explained that the existing PHP43 per kilo MSRP was based on the previous import volume, which entered the country before a four-month halt on rice imports. For the new MSRP, the department is considering the range and variety of rice, especially since the Philippine peso has weakened while international costs vary. A reasonable price range is anticipated to be between PHP46 and PHP48 per kilo, not exceeding PHP50 per kilo.
According to the DA Bantay Presyo (Price Watch), as of Monday, premium imported rice in Metro Manila was priced between PHP50 and PHP62 per kilo. Tiu Laurel attributed the high prices to delays in the arrival of imported rice, with most imports for January arriving only in the last week of the month. The price range for imported well-milled rice is currently between PHP43 and PHP50 per kilo, and between PHP36 and PHP46 per kilo for imported regular-milled rice.
Local premium rice prices range from PHP43 to PHP60 per kilo, while the prevailing price for well-milled rice is PHP45 per kilo and PHP40 per kilo for regular milled rice. Tiu Laurel assured that retail rice prices should stabilize within the coming weeks with the arrival of imported rice, predicting that prices will decrease within the month.
As of February 5, a total of 409,377 metric tons (MT) of imported rice were recorded in January, including 361,421.59 MT of regular rice.
