struggles in Philippines to lower rice price despite abundant supply
Published on: February 19, 2024.
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MANILA: A top official in the Philippine agriculture sector expressed concerns on Friday about the ongoing struggle to lower the price of rice, despite the country’s abundant supply of this essential staple.
Roger Navarro, an Undersecretary of Agriculture, highlighted that the Philippines currently has enough rice stock due to a strong harvest in the previous year and additional imports in January.
Navarro explained that the challenge lies in reducing prices as the cost of rice remains high, similar to the high prices in rice-exporting nations like Vietnam and Thailand. He pointed out that in these key rice-supplying countries, the cost per kilogram stands at 48 pesos (approximately 0.87 U.S. dollars) and 52 pesos (about 0.93 dollars) respectively.
The crux of the issue, according to Navarro, is stabilizing the supply rather than just focusing on the price. He emphasized that the daily rice consumption in the Philippines is about 37,000 metric tons, requiring monthly imports of around 300,000 tons to support local production.
Navarro drew attention to a worrying trend, stating that rice inflation increased to 22.6 percent in January from 19.6 percent in December of the previous year. To address the current situation, he revealed that the Philippines has already imported 590,000 metric tons as of Wednesday, with the intention of supplementing local output once the harvest season begins in the coming months.
