Farmgate price of palay at all time high – PSA

The cost of palay shot up to its highest level during the last week of August, while prices of well milled and regular milled price are also getting more expensive.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that during the fourth week of August, palay price at the farmgate continues to climb.

The average farmgate price of palay particularly went up by 1.07 percent to 122.68 per kilogram from previous week's level of 122.44 per kilogram.

Similarly, its price climbed by 15.89 percent compared to the level a year ago of 119.57 per kilogram.

Agriculture lobby groups, led by Samahang Industriya sa Agrikultura (SINAG), agreed on Friday that importation was useless in terms of bringing down the cost of rice in the country.

They also said that what's causing prices to shoot up could be the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, which implemented an increase in the excise tax in oil, effectively making the cost of production higher than ever.

As for the average wholesale price of well milled rice, it posted an increment of 2.21 percent to 144.49 per kilogram during the week. Relative to the level a year ago of 139.30 per kilogram, it rose by 13.21 percent.

The average retail price of well milled rice at 147.12 per kg likewise posted a higher rate of increase from previous week's level by 2.30 percent. Compared to a year ago level, it picked up by 11.63 percent.

At the wholesale trade, the average price of regular milled rice at 141.49 per kilogram during the week recorded a faster rate of increase of 3.23 percent from the level a week ago. On an annual basis, it accelerated by 16.32 percent during the week.

Similarly, the average retail price of regular milled rice at 143.86 per kilogram went up by 3.01 percent from previous week's level of 142.85 kilogram. It moved upward by 15.24 percent from the level in the same week of 2017.