Max SRP for imported rice starts Jan. 20 – DA

MANILA, Philippines — The maximum suggested retail price (SRP) of P58 per kilo on imported rice will take effect on Jan. 20, after Executive Order 62 – which allowed a 15 percent tariff on the outsourced staple – failed to bring down the cost of rice.

“This maximum SRP aims to strike a delicate balance between business sustainability and the welfare of consumers and farmers. We must ensure the price of rice is fair and affordable even as we make sure that the rice industry remains profitable. We cannot allow the greed of a few to jeopardize the well-being of an entire nation,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said yesterday.

However, farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) yesterday maintained that the P58 per kilo SRP to be enforced by the Department of Agriculture (DA) is still high, saying the maximum SRP should only be P45 per kilo. 

Imported rice has been flooding the country as importations reached an “all-time high” 4.684 million metric tons in 2024. 

Tiu Laurel said the price of P58 per kilo was determined after extensive consultations with importers, retailers, rice industry stakeholders as well as government agencies and law enforcement bodies.

SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet said that during the marathon hearing of the House quinta committee, importers promised that the retail price of imported rice could go down to between P42 and P45 per kilo once EO 62 is implemented.

“Prior to the implementation of E0 62, importers and the National Economic and Development Authority were in chorus for a P7 to 10 per kilo reduction in rice prices upon the effectivity of the 15 percent tariff on imported rice,” Cainglet said.

He added that the importers are still the winners with the DA’s decision to implement the P58 per kilo of rice.

“We’ve said all along that the savings of the importers on tariff reduction will not benefit the consumers. That’s why the tariff reduction is not the answer (to the high retail price of rice),” Cainglet stressed.

He said the landed cost of imported rice is only between P35 and P38 kilo, and the maximum SRP on imported rice should be pegged at P45.

Tiu Laurel said the maximum SRP will be