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Despite
recent pronouncements made by the government that it
would step up its intervention in the domestic market to
reduce the price of commercial rice, the latest monitor
of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) shows
that rice prices in Metro Manila continue to go up.
Based on
the Metro Manila Price Bulletin released by the BAS
yesterday, the prevailing price of regular-milled rice
at the retail level went up by P1 to P30 per kilogram,
from P29 per kilo registered just three days ago.
For
well-milled rice, the prevailing price went up by P2 to
P32 per kilogram. For consumers who prefer premium rice,
they would have to shell out P2 more because the going
price of the variant is now at P34 per kilo.
The only
variant whose prices remained stable was fancy rice
which continues to sell at P40 per kilo.
On March
29 the National Food Authority (NFA) under the
Department of Agriculture (DA) announced it will begin
selling midpriced commercial varieties in the market as
part of the “supervised-selling” strategy drawn up by
the government to stabilize the retail cost of the food
staple for low- and middle-income consumers alike.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said that under the
NFA’s direct or supervised-selling program, it will also
unload varieties at around P25 per kilo to help
stabilize retail prices of higher-end rice varieties.
The move
is expected to ease the pressure on the price of
commercial rice.
Earlier,
the DA had expressed confidence that with the coming
summer harvests, the price of rice will ease further. |
