Local Rice May Rise by ₱6 by End 2022

In a message sent to reporters, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin Adriano said “If production declines this main wet season due to high fertilizer and petrol prices, and global rice price rise, we will see significant increases in rice prices by the end of this year. 

Rice is predicted to possibly increase as much as ₱6 by Q4 of this year. The possible price increase is brought about by the increased cost of production which discourages local farmers from planting rice. 

According to the DA’s data on rice prices, as of this Tuesday, well-milled rice increased by  ₱1 from last year while regular milled rice remains the same at  ₱38. 

But as per the Philippine Rice Research Institute’s data, these prices will most likely change. 

Their studies show that the average cost needed for producing rice has gone up by  ₱3.13 per kilo this year. 

Undersecretary Adriano also added, “Thus, it is imperative for [the] government to give fertilizer and petrol subsidies to farmers now — to prevent productivity decline,”. 

Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) back in 2020, the approximate cost of production for the rise was ₱11.52. This amount fails to include additional operational costs such as milling, logistics, and transportation. 

The increasing costs of rice production have caused the Department of Agriculture to roll out fertilizer subsidies for local farmers in an effort to lower costs and address the dwindling unhusked rice or palay production. 

Undersecretary Adriano mentioned that now there are two ways the government can address this problem of low palay production, either offer more subsidies or import rice from other countries. 

Source: Inquirer