THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it may further lower the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice to P45 per kg by the end of March from the current P49 per kg.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Sunday the move would depend on a continued decline in global rice prices, among other factors.
“If the current trend in world rice prices persists and the peso remains strong, we might lower the MSRP for imported rice to around P45 per kg by March 31,” he said.
The landed cost of good-quality rice variety from Vietnam with 5 percent broken grains, is now at around $490 per metric ton (MT), which is more than $200 lower than the November 2024 price and about $80 less than early-January prices, Tiu Laurel said.
DA added that the Philippine peso regained strength in early March after trading above P58 against the US dollar since November, and is now in the P57-range. It hit P57.225 per US dollar on March 11, though by March 14, the peso has lost some steam to P57.32 against the US dollar.
The agency said the implementation of the rice MSRP has resulted in sharp reduction in prices without significantly disrupting the rice industry. It was first implemented at P58 per kg last February and then reduced gradually until it reached the current P49 per kg on March 1. The DA recalled that before it introduced the rice MSRP, imported rice with 5 percent broken grains was being retailed at about P64 per kg, despite softer global prices, tariff reductions and a stronger peso.
Tiu Laurel also said that falling rice prices and lower tariffs would not impact the P30-billion annual budget allocated to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), which supports local rice farmers under the amended Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).
The DA said that during deliberations for the updated RTL, the government ensured there would be a provision to sustain the RCEF through the General Appropriations Act starting in 2026 until 2031.
‘Cautious’ welcome to MSRP
Meanwhile, local agriculture stakeholders welcomed the drop in retail prices brought by the rice MSRP but expressed fears that it may pull down the prices of locally produced rice in the current harvest season as well.
Raul Montemayor, the Federation of Free Farmers national manager, described the projected P45-rice MSRP as “very doable” as early as February, with current international market price trends, but emphasized that it could pull down local palay prices. “Problem is that as they lower rice prices, palay prices go down also,” Montemayor said.
Danilo Fausto, president of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. president, said the DA should consider postponing any further reduction in imported rice MSRP during the harvest season, as it could reduce the income of local palay farmers.
“I just pray that he (Tiu Laurel) delay this plan for another month or two in order not to coincide with the rice harvest since the planned MSRP is affecting the farm gate price of palay currently being harvested which can go even below the cost to produce per kg of palay,” Fausto explained.
“The dry production period usually produces good harvest and if the farm gate price is depressed, the rice farmers may not be able to recover for the next wet season since wet season cropping usually produces 30 percent to 50 percent less vs dry cropping period,” Fausto added.
Jayson Cainglet, executive director of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, said imported rice should have been sold to the public as early as last November, when the landed cost of imported rice then, was already at P35 per kg.
Cainglet added that the continued imposition of the MSRP and the mandate of the National Food Authority to sell its rice stocks to local government units under the state-declared food security emergency, are also grounds for the government to reinstate higher rice tariffs.
Latest data from the Bureau of Plant Industry show that as much as 579,055.808 MT of imported rice have arrived in the country as of March 6, 2025.
Bulk of the imported rice supply came from Vietnam at 440,207.42 MT, equivalent to 76 percent of all shipments for the period.
Based on DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, local well-milled rice sold for P42 to P52 per kg on Thursday (March 13) while regular milled rice went for P33 to P48 per kg.
Imported well-milled rice was selling for P44 to P46 per kg while the prices of imported regular milled rice ranged from P33 to P45 per kg.
Special-variety imported rice fetched P51 to P60 per kg. and premium rice, sold for P46 to P55.
Special- variety local rice was selling for P55 to P63 per kg while premium rice went for P45 to P60 per kg.
