DA ready to sell rice at P40 per kilo

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it may sell rice at P40 per kilogram if prevailing retail market prices soften as soon as more imported rice slapped with lower tariff rate arrives in the country in the coming months.

- Jasper Emmanuel Arcalas

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the price of rice being sold by the DA through its Rice-for-All program could decline by P5 per kilogram once prevailing market prices ease.

“If the (retail prices of rice) in the market reach P45 (per kilo), then our Rice-for-All program would be priced at P40 per kilo,” Tiu Laurel said in an online interview recently.

The Rice-for-All program, which started last Aug. 1, sells well-milled rice sourced from local importers and traders to the public at P45 per kilo, with a limit of 25 kilos per day, lower than prevailing prices of P47 to P55 per kilo.

The agriculture chief is maintaining his earlier forecast that local rice prices would fall only by October once a substantial amount of rice imports levied with lower tariffs of 15 percent enter the country.

The government earlier estimated that rice prices would decline by P5 to P7 per kilo because of the tariff reduction to 15 percent from 35 percent, which took effect last July 5.