DA expects further decline in rice prices

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said rice prices may further decrease following the slowdown in the September inflation rate.

Tariffs on imported rice have been reduced from 35% to 15%, and India has lifted its export ban.

According to DA assistant secretary and spokesperson Arnel De Mesa, rice inflation has dropped significantly from 14.7% in August to 5.7% in September.

“Natutuwa kami sa balita na ito dahil malaki ang ibinaba ng food inflation,” De Mesa said in a press briefing.

The government has also introduced the Rice-for-All program, offering rice at P29 per kilo to ease the burden on consumers.

De Mesa emphasized the benefits of the newly enacted Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act against smuggling in the country.

“Kung mapipigilan po natin ‘yung pagpasok ng mga smuggled goods sa ating bansa, mas magiging maganda ang productivity ng ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda,” he stated.

Aside from the strong rice harvest this year, global rice prices have also seen a decrease.

Food inflation has also decelerated to 1.9%, the slowest since the 1.6% recorded in May 2020 during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rice constitutes 9% of the basket of goods used to measure food inflation

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel pointed to the decline in food inflation as a key factor in overall economic improvement.

“Food prices have significantly declined from the highs posted in the same period last year, with vegetables such as onion and tomatoes, sugar, fish and rice leading the way with the help of various interventions of the Marcos administration,” Laurel stated.