P20/kilo rice not yet possible, says DA chief

Achieving the "aspiration" for rice at P20 per kilo is not possible at this time, but the government will work on bringing down prices to affordable levels for consumers, newly installed Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said yesterday.

- DANESSA RIVERA

At a briefing, Laurel said lowering the retail price of rice to the level promised by President Marcos during the election campaign is challenging, given the uncertainties in the world market.

"The P20 per kilo was an aspiration. The problem [is] we are now at a 15-year high [in] world market [prices]. What was previously at $230 per ton in Vietnam, today it's $700 per ton. Today, it is not possible," he said, citing challenges that include climate change, El Niño and geopolitical tensions overseas.

"The problem around the world is so complicated. There's climate change, El Niño is now here and it will continue until the middle of next year. Anything can happen. We don't know when there will be another war in other places, and we don't know if a ship will get stuck in the Suez Canal," Laurel said.

However, the department chief did not discount the fact that lowering prices is still possible with the modernization of agriculture. "It is possible to lower the price. But we need to have our silos, we have to have buffer stock. And we have to change some laws, I believe," Laurel said.