Imported rice MSRP declining to P45 per kilo at end of March

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday it will reduce the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice to P45 per kilo on March 31, citing declining global rice prices.

-  Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

The DA said in a statement that the lifting of India’s year-long ban on the export of non-basmati white rice has pushed global rice prices to their lowest levels in over two varieties.

Some rice varieties are now priced below $380 per metric ton, it said.

“At this level, the retail price of imported rice has now decreased by P1-P2 per kilo compared to its price before we implemented the MSRP on Jan. 26,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.

The lowering of the MSRP has raised concerns among farmers that the farmgate price of palay (unmilled rice) will fall further, as traders grow reluctant to carry domestic rice because of competition from cheaper imports.

The DA said before the MSRP was imposed, imported rice was selling for P64 per kilo “despite Vietnam is the Philippines’ main overseas rice supplier.”