The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will delay its plan to reduce the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice in July, citing growing volatility on global markets sparked by the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The DA previously planned to lower the MSRP for the 5-percent broken imported rice from P45 to P43 per kilo starting July 1.
“We’ll likely delay the rollout by a month or two to gain a clearer picture of where global prices are heading,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Monday.
He said the decision was triggered by the US airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, which effectively expanded the Israel-Iran conflict across the Middle East, a major source of global oil supply.
Even if crude oil is not directly used to manufacture fertilizer, natural gas, which is a key byproduct of oil refining, is essential for producing ammonia, a core ingredient in nitrogen-based fertilizers, the DA said, explaining the impact of the Middle East conflict on agricultural inputs.
Rising oil prices will also lead to higher transportation costs for fertilizers and other agricultural inputs, the DA added.
Meanwhile, Tiu Laurel said the DA has not scrapped its plan to introduce an MSRP for imported pork in August, but the final pricing will be determined closer to the rollout.
“The market is extremely fluid. Any forecast I make now might not be accurate even an hour later,” he explained.
Last month, the DA said that the MSRP for imported pork was still pegged at P380 per kilogram for liempo and P350 per kg of kasim and pigue.
However, the agency said it will have to intensify its direct selling of pork products to the public, through the Food Terminal Inc., to make pork traders adhere to the MSRP for pork.
The implementation of the pork MSRP was put on hold in May as the DA looked for ways to increase compliance by retailers and traders.
Based on the DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, local well-milled rice sold for P38 to P52 per kg on Saturday, June 21, while regular milled rice went for P30 to P45 per kg.
Imported well-milled rice was selling for P38 to P48 per kg while the price of imported regular milled rice ranged from P35 to P45 per kg.
Special-variety imported rice fetched P55 to P61 and premium rice, P43 to P50.
Special-variety local rice was selling for P50 to P62 per kg while premium rice went for P44 to P60 per kg.
These varieties are priced based on regular market factors and forces, and are not subsidized.
Meanwhile, also from the same monitoring, the prevailing prices of pork ham ranged from P365 to P430 per kg; pork belly from P370 to P490 per kg; frozen kasim from P240 to P270 per kg; and frozen liempo from P290 to P350.
