Agri stakeholders: Rice prices could reach ₱60 in coming weeks due to low supply

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 13) — An agricultural group and rice trader fear the retail cost of ordinary rice could reach ₱60 per kilo by next month due to the low supply of the staple grain.

Mario Dagan of Agri Services Plus Cooperative said stocks are currently low due to damage from typhoon and the monsoon season.

“December kasi wala nang anihan so ang may palay na lang noon yung mga bodega na lang na nag-stock, mga rice mill na nag-stock talaga ng palay,” Dagan added.

[Translation: There are no more harvests this December so only warehouses and rice mills that maintained stocks have palay.]

He said there is also the late harvest but quality is not good, which further reduces production. The low supply could lead to prices going up unless the government imports more rice to fill the gap and stabilize prices, he noted.

Palay farmgate prices in Pangasinan are now at ₱24-25 per kilo but could possibly go up to ₱27, Dagan said.

Rosendo So, chairman of Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), also fears that the per kilo price of rice could reach ₱60 in the coming weeks. This as the farmgate price of palay reached ₱31 per kilo, and market price of rice reached as high as ₱54 per kilo, the group said.

He said imposing another price ceiling is already too late since many already bought their rice at a higher price.

“Kung i-price ceiling mo yan baka hindi madeliver sa Metro Manila yung bigas, pupunta na lang sa mga probinsya. So magkakaroon tayo ng mas malaking problema,” he added.

[Translation: If you impose a price ceiling, rice may no longer be delivered in Metro Manila and just go to the provinces. So we will have a bigger problem.]

So said the only solution is for the government to provide subsidies to rice retailers so they can lower their price for the consumers.

The group earlier called for the reimposition of a price ceiling as it projected the per kilo price of well-milled rice to reach ₱50.

Economists earlier criticized the rice price ceiling imposed by the government in September until early October. They said it was likely to lead to price distortion and fail to achieve the goal of taming inflation.

CNN Philippines’ AC Nicholls,