The maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice may drop further in the coming months as international market prices continue to ease, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a briefing in Quezon City yesterday cited such a possible scenario, saying prices from the country’s major trading partners in the staple food were fallin, particularly Vietnam, India and Thailand.
In Vietnam, prices of rice considered 5-percent broken were down 14.9 percent at $434 per metric ton (MT) as of January 10, 2025, from $510 per MT a month earlier.
Prices of the 25-percent broken rice from Vietnam fell 9.9 percent to $409 from $454 per MT in the comparable period.
From India, the price of 5-percent broken rice declined by 2 percent to $440 per MT from $449 per MT. Its 25-percent broken rice went down by 2.1 percent to $434 per MT from $425 per MT.
Thailand’s 5-percent broken rice price dropped 8.6 percent to $438 from $479 per MT.
The department still expects further declines in international rice prices, De Mesa said.
“Maybe if foreign exchange rates will also drop [in favor of the peso] as it is slightly higher now, rice prices will [be] further tamed,” he added.
The department is yet to compute at what level to set the MSRP in light of what is now happening in the international market.
The department is scheduled to impose a P58 per kilo MSRP on January 20.
Imported 5-percent broken rice should not exceed the maximum suggested retail price while the variety with higher percentage of broken grains should be much lower, it said
The MSRP will be implemented first in Metro Manila and will be reviewed monthly to take into account several factors, including the staple food’s global price.
Based on department monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, local well-milled rice was selling from P40 to P52 per kilo as of Friday, while regular milled rice went for P38 to P48 per kilo.
The price of imported well milled rice is selling at P40 to P54 per kilo, while imported regular milled rice is priced at P40 to P48 per kilo.
The price of imported special variety rice ranges from P53 to P65 per kilo, while the premium variety goes from P52 to P60.
The local special variety costs between P55 and P63 per kilo and the premium variety sells from P48 to P58 per kilo.
