MANILA, Philippines – With global prices of rice declining, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice of the 25% broken variety may go down below P50.
“That’s a probability considering na very sharp nga ‘yung pag-decline from December 10 to January 10 nitong presyo ng bigas sa international market,” DA spokesman Arnel de Mesa told reporters on Monday, January 13.
(That’s a probability considering that there is a very sharp decline from December 10 to January 10 in the price of rice in the international market.)
The agriculture department is implementing the MSRP of P58 for imported rice in Metro Manila starting January 20 in a bid to lower prices.
The DA computed the P58-MSRP based on prices of 5% broken rice from Vietnam and included landed cost.
De Mesa cites recent data from the Vietnam Food Association which showed that price of 5% broken Vietnamese rice declined from $510 per metric ton to $434. Meanwhile, 25% broken Vietnamese rice went down from $409 to $326 per metric ton.
The same declining trend can be seen with rice from India and Thailand.
Broken rice at 5% from India went from $449 to $440 per metric ton while 25% broken Indian rice went down from $434 to $425 per metric ton in the same period. Rice from Thailand of the 5% broken variety declined from $479 to $438 per metric ton.
“It could be lower kasi yung initial na computation sa P50, mataas na ‘yung presyo sa international market. Ito na bumababa, definitely, it will go down below P50 yung 25% broken,” De Mesa added.
(It could be lower because the initial computation was based on previously higher prices in the international market. Now it has lowered, definitely, the price of 25% broken rice will go down below P50.)
The Philippines imported a total of 4.78 million metric tons in 2024. The DA earlier reported that total imported rice amounted to 4.68 million MT.
As of Friday, July 10, imported rice range from P28 to P65. – Rappler.com