Imported rice MSRP to be reduced to P43 per kg

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Sunday that it will lower the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice to P43 per kilo from P45 starting July 1.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the reduction is “in response to the recent decline in global rice prices.”

“This food security initiative has helped tame inflation, allowing the central bank to reduce interest rates to drive economic activity and create jobs.”

Rice inflation continued to decline, falling 12.8% in May from the 10.9% decline a month prior.

The DA said it is also set to adjust the prices of rice sold under its rice-for-all program, in which rice with 5% broken-grain content sells for P43, 25% broken P35, and 100% broken P33.

The MSRP was first implemented in January to reflect the reduction in imported rice tariffs to 15% from 35% in July.

The pricing scheme also coincided with a drop in world rice prices following India’s lifting of its export ban on non-basmati white rice.

The initial MSRP for 5% broken imported rice was set at P58 per kilo on Jan. 28 and was gradually lowered to P45 by March 31.

The DA has also been expanding a government-subsidized P20-per-kilo rice program for disadvantaged consumers, which it wants to sustain until the end of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s term in 2028.

The program has benefited 9,487 households or almost 40,000 individuals as of June 4.

With the price of NFA rice at P33 per kilo, Food Terminal, Inc. and a partner local government unit will need to pay P6.50 each to close the P13 gap.

For rice sold in state-backed Kadiwa outlets, the FTI absorbs P9 for every kilo of rice sold.

Mr. Laurel said Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has instructed House of Representatives policy and budget experts to conduct an in-depth review on the feasibility of making the subsidized-rice measures permanent.

He said the House leadership affirmed its “readiness to draft legislation to institutionalize the program.”

The DA is seeking an P18-billion budget for the program in 2026. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza