The Department of Agriculture (DA) is advocating for P42 per kilogram (kg) as the ideal price for well-milled rice, saying this is a “happy balance” between the goal of ensuring farmers get a decent return for their hard work and consumers to have access to affordably-price food.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. in a statement on Monday said the retail prices of well-milled rice in the Philippines are more affordable compared to those in other rice-producing countries such as Thailand and China, except for Vietnam where production costs are significantly lower.
As of last week, the price of well-milled rice in the country ranges between P45 and P52 per kg while in Thailand, it ranges from P51.95 to P132.75 and in China the same quality rice ranges between P44.47 and P88.86 a kilo.
“While we aim to drive down food costs, we are also mindful of the needs of our primary stakeholders—our farmers and their families, who work tirelessly in the fields but have not fully reaped the benefits of their labor,” said Tiu Laurel.
The DA said in the Philippines, for every P100 the average consumer spends, around P10 is used to buy rice. For the bottom 30 percent of income households, a segment of the population where most farmers and fisherfolk belong, the proportion is higher at P20 for every P100 are spent for rice.
As a rule of thumb, the buying price of palay per kilo is usually doubled to arrive at the price of rice in the market which means the buying price should be P21 per kg.
Tiu Laurel said the DA also considers the movement rice in the international market along with movement of the peso’s exchange rate.
While global prices of rice has fallen to below $500 a ton in October from more than $630 a ton in January, the peso over the same 10-month period has sharply depreciated to P58 against the US dollar from P48.
