Dry palay price reaches ₧19/kg in May

THE average farm-gate price of dry palay (unhusked rice) in mid-may breached the P19-per-kilogram (kg) barrier, a price level that has not been seen in over a year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Preliminary PSA data released on Wednesday showed that nationwide average quotation of dry palay in the second week of May reached P19.06 per kg, slightly higher than the previous week’s P18.81 per kg.

The latest quotation was 4 percent over than the P18.30-per-kg average price level recorded in the same period of last year, PSA data showed.

This marks the fourth consecutive week that the weekly average dry palay farm-gate prices are higher than their last year’s counterparts, historical PSA data showed.

Historical PSA data analyzed by the Businessmirror showed that this is also the first time that the average farm-gate price of dry palay breached the P19-perkg level in 14 months since the P19.03-per-kg recorded in the mid-march 2019.

Preliminary PSA data also showed that the highest average farm-gate price of dry palay was recorded in Central Visayas region at P21.57 per kg, while the lowest average quotation was in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at P17 per kg.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has attributed the rise in farmgate prices this year to the normalization of the industry after it transitioned to a liberalized trade regime following the enactment of the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law.

However, industry groups said farm-gate prices rose this season due to the impact of Covid-19 on rice trade, such as reduced imports coupled by higher domestic staple demand.