THE average farm-gate price of dry palay fell to a fresh eight-year low in the first week of October just as the country enters the main harvest season for the crop, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed.
Preliminary figures released by the PSA on Wednesday showed that average farm-gate prices of dry palay declined by 28.82 percent to P15.56 per kilogram from P21.86 per kilogram last year.
Likewise, it fell by 1.64 percent from end-September’s average quotation of P15.82 per kilogram.
The latest average farm-gate price of dry palay is now the lowest since the P15.48 per kilogram recorded in the second week of November 2011.
The farm-gate price of palay is expected to further slide in the coming weeks as rice harvest peaks, coupled with the unhindered influx of imported staple in the domestic market.
From October 2 to 8, the PSA recorded the lowest average farm-gate price of palay in ARMM at P12.50 per kilogram, while the highest prevailing quotation was observed in Central Visayas at P19.10 per kilogram.
During the reference period, both prices of well-milled rice (WMR) and regular-milled rice (RMR) at the wholesale and retail levels declined.
The average wholesale price of WMR declined 16.4 percent year-on-year to P38.02 per kilogram. Likewise, it was slightly lower than the previous week’s level of P38.15 per kilogram, PSA data showed.
“Similarly, at the retail trade, the average price of well-milled rice continued to decline as it dropped to P41.94 per kg or by 0.2 percent during the period from its P42.03 per kg in the previous week,” the PSA said in its weekly price monitoring report.
“On an annual basis, it continued to move down at a rate of 14.5 percent from the same period of the previous year’s level of P49.04 per kg,” it added.
The same downward trend was observed by PSA in the average wholesale and retail prices of RMR during the same period.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes