The Department of Agriculture (DA) said that the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice at P43 per kilo, will remain during the two-month suspension of rice imports starting September 1.
The MSRP, based on a data-driven analysis of the market situation, is a price watchdog mechanism for the DA in protecting the consumers from overpricing and profiteering.
“We will maintain the MSRP even during the two-month rice import ban… Throughout the suspension, we will closely monitor supply and market dynamics—especially among retailers, wholesalers, and importers—and take appropriate action to uphold market discipline,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Thursday, August 14.
The DA reiterated that the MSRP for 5 percent broken imported rice was reduced to P43 per kilo from P45 last July 16.
Tiu Laurel said the DA will assess whether to shorten or extend the rice import suspension, depending on price movements and the outcome of the main harvest in the coming months. Earlier, on the sidelines of a forum organized by the Economic Journalists’ Association of the Philippines, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said he did not see the rice import ban being extended.
The DA reiterated that specialty rice varieties such as Japanese, black, and basmati rice, will be exempt from the import ban, which was triggered by reports that local palay prices have fallen to as low as P8 per kilogram, way below the production costs of about 3 million palay farmers.
Citing data from the Bureau of Plant Industry, the DA said the Philippines imported 2,443,337.556 metric tons (MT, or 2,443,337,556 kilograms) of rice between January and July 2025. Pending sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances cover an estimated 300,000 MT, the DA added.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that every person in the country roughly consumes 9.8 kg of rice per month, the DA said. This means the Philippines’ rice imports from January to July alone fed 35,617,165 people during the period. With the Philippine population reaching 116.8 million as of 2025, the rest of the rice demand was provided by local rice farmers.
Based on the DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, local well-milled rice sold for P37 to P52 per kg on Wednesday (August 13) while regular milled rice went for P30 to P45 per kg.
Imported well-milled rice was selling for P39 to P50 per kg while the price of imported regular-milled rice ranged from P30 to P45 per kg.
Special-variety imported rice fetched P50 to P65 and premium rice, P42 to P48.
Special-variety local rice was selling for P48 to P65 per kg while premium rice went for P42 to P60 per kg.
These prices are based on existing market forces and factors and are not subsidized.
