Rice at P58 SRP too high — Rep. Garin

- Advertisement -

DA Usec defends price as part of pilot program

Iloilo City Rep. Janette Garin called government’s plan to set the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) at P58 per kilogram as unrealistically high and “a disservice to consumers.”

At the hearing of the House Supercommittee on Cheap Food yesterday, Garin said the MSRP should be lower because the price of regular milled rice has dropped.

DA Undersecretary Asis Perez defended the P58 MSRP as part of a pilot program for Metro Manila, saying it was designed to address higher rice prices in the area which is reportedly ranging from P62 to P64 per kilo.

- Advertisement -

“It (MSRP) is based on the landed cost of imported rice, plus a reasonable mark-up for all those involved in the distribution chain, mahaba po ‘yang chain na yan (That chain is long),” Perez said. 

Garin assailed the DA’s method for setting the MSRP, saying that it was based on inflated market prices “rather than actual production costs and reasonable margins.”

The joint panel, which is led by its overall chair Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chair of the ways and means committee, later decided to invite DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel to attend its next hearing so he can personally address the concerns of lawmakers. 

The quinta committee is composed of the House Committee on Ways and Means and joined by the House Committees on Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Food, Social Services, and the Special Committee on Food Security.

Finding the MSRP too high, Salceda noted the cost of imported rice has gone down to between P44 and P47, while the buying price for palay (unmilled rice) has also gone down.

Garin said the landed cost of imported rice ranged from P35 to P39 per kilo only, a far cry from the DA’s MSRP. 

Even with logistics and markups, Garin said the price of rice should not exceed P45 to P49 per kilo at retail. If the landed cost is at P35, it can be sold for P42 to P43 per kilo while others who paid a landed cost of P39 can sell it for P47 to P48.

Meanwhile, the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) said it is crafting a resolution that would allow the DA to declare a food security emergency amid the rising prices of basic commodities.

Cherryl Carbonell, director at the Department of Trade and Industry said the measure would help mitigate the high prices of goods.

“We are looking at the possibility of declaring that there is an extraordinary increase in price, to allow the DA Secretary to declare a food security emergency,” Carbonell told the panel.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: