The Rice for All program which will sell subsidized rice to the general public will be launched today in four Kadiwa sites.
“Rice under the Rice-for-All program will initially be sold at P45 a kilo. It will be adjusted depending the movement of rice prices but it will definitely be lower than retail prices in general,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel.
The Rice-for-All Program would sell to the general public well-milled rice sourced from rice importers and local traders at a limit of 25 kg per customer per day.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the program seeks to help more Filipino consumers cope with the impact of high food prices, which significantly influence inflation and consequently interest rates.
“In addition to the existing P29 Rice, the Rice-for-All Program will be offered initially in four Kadiwa outlets: FTI in Taguig City, the Bureau of Plant Industry in Manila, Potrero in Malabon, and in Caloocan,” said de Mesa.
The Department of Agriculture said the P29 Rice Program for the vulnerable sector will still continue in tandem with the Rice for All program.
DA said the P29 Rice Program will be extended to two more areas particularly in Sta. Rosa city, Laguna and Antipolo city, Rizal which will increase the network covered by the program to 17 sites.
Based on DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, the price last Monday of local well-milled rice was between P45 and P55 per kg and regular milled, P45 to P50 per kg.
The price of imported well-milled rice is at P51 to P53 per kg, while the price range of imported regular milled rice is at P47 to P48 per kg.
Imported rice ranges from P55 to P65 for the special variety and P53 to P60 for premium.
For local rice, the special variety costs P58 to P61 per kg and premium, P50 to P58 per kg.
