Reduce middlemen in rice delivery to lower prices

Retail prices of rice can go down to P43 per kilo if the government cuts the layers of middlemen before the commodity reaches the markets, farmers' group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said over the weekend.

- - Bella Cariaso

SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet said that typically after being milled, the rice will be sold to at least six middlemen such as wholesalers and biyaheros, before it reaches consumers.

Each of these layers adds P2 per kilo in the retail price of rice before consumers can buy the staple, he said.