Prices of rice in Cebu up by P3 per kilo – DA

Amid the rising prices of basic goods, consumers are faced with another challenge: the rising cost of Filipino staple, rice.

In Cebu, rice prices have seen rising by as much as P3 per kilo, said Gerry Avila, agribusiness and marketing chief at the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas, in a phone interview yesterday.

Avila pointed out supply issues are pushing up prices.

For instance, Ganador rice, among the well-known variants, has gone up to P56 per kilo from P53.

"So far based on our monitoring all kinds of rice have increased prices," the DA official told The FREEMAN.

Cebu gets its rice supply from its neighboring province of Bohol, Leyte, Iloilo and Mindanao, Avila said, noting Cebu is not rice sufficient.

The rising prices of commercial rice arise amid the presence of government-subsidized NFA (National Food Authority) rice sold at P27 and P32 per kilo in the market.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that as of this month, regular-milled rice is selling at P42.65 per kilo and well-milled rice at P46.06 a kilo.

Based on PSA data, retail price of regular-milled rice increased by 9.17 percent and well-milled rice by 12.7 percent compared to August 2017.

Avila said the DA expects rice prices to stabilize next month or in October in time for the harvest season.

He, however, expressed concern on the mild El Niño predicted to hit the country which could significantly affect farm production.

While consumers are worried about the rising cost of the staple, concerns also continue to escalate that inflation will hit 6% this month.

In July, inflation rose 5.7%, the highest level in five years.

President Rodrigo Duterte had asked Congress to pass a law that will tax imported rice to replace import quotas as part of measures to temper inflation.

The rice tariffication bill is deemed a significant step in reforming the agricultural sector.

The measure will remove unnecessary government intervention in the rice market.

Once the quantitative restriction is replaced by predictable tariffs, it is expected that the private sector can respond more effectively to market signals and government can focus on regulating to ensure food safety and fair market competition.