THE average retail price of regular-milled rice (RMR) fell by over 12 percent to P36.53 per kilogram (kg), the lowest level recorded for the variety in nearly six years, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Figures from the PSA showed that the latest figure was the lowest recorded since the third week of January 2014, when RMR was priced at P36.46 per kg.
PSA data indicated that the average wholesale price of RMR also declined by 14.87 percent to P33.02 per kg, from P38.79 per kg recorded in the same period last year.
Authorities and experts attribute the drop in rice prices to the surge in imports after the industry was deregulated by the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law in March 2019.
The passage of the RTL law was hailed by authorities and some industry experts, calling it one of the biggest reform measures in recent years. The law sought to increase the country’s supply of affordable rice.
The Philippines has overtaken China as the world’s top buyer of rice last year after the country’s total purchases surged to 3 million metric tons.
Latest PSA data also showed that the average retail price of well-milled rice (WMR) fell to P41.45 per kg, 8.32 percent lower than last year’s P45.21 per kg. Its average wholesale price dropped by almost 11 percent to P37.24 per kg, from P41.82 per kg last year.
Turnaround
As the retail prices of rice continued to fall, the average farm-gate price of paddy posted a turnaround during the reference period as it rose by 1.02 percent to P15.79 per kg, from P15.63 per kg in the last week of December.
However, the latest average buying price for unhusked rice was 20.85 percent lower than the quotation of nearly P20 per kg last year, data from the PSA showed.
Historical PSA data showed that the average farm-gate price of palay is still the lowest in eight years owing to the detrimental effects of higher rice imports.
On an annual basis, the average farm-gate price of palay in 2019 settled at P16.20 per kg, 20 percent lower than the average quotation of P20.20 per kg in 2018, the PSA said in a separate report.
Also, the average palay price last year was the lowest in eight years as its previous average price of P16.20 per kg was recorded in 2012, according to historical PSA data.
“Palay price decreased due to the effect of lower buying price offered by local buyers and traders, presence of imported rice and higher volume of production,” the PSA said.
In its recent report on the performance of the agriculture sector, the PSA said total unmilled rice output in 2019 declined by 1.3 percent on an annual basis due to a series of contractions in the previous quarters.
Total palay output fell to a three-year low of 18.814 million metric tons (MT), PSA data showed