The average farm-gate price of dry palay fell to a five-week low in the second week of September, as farmers have started harvesting their crop, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
The average quotation of P17.12 per kilogram for unmilled rice during the period was 3 percent lower than the figure recorded in the previous week. However, the price was 5.81 percent higher than last year’s P16.18 per kg, based on PSA data.
PSA data showed that during the reference period only the regions of Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas posted an average dry palay quotation that is higher than P17 per kg.
Dry and clean palay was sold at P17 per kg or lower in other regions, PSA data indicated.
In North Cotabato, where farmers staged a protest last week over declining palay prices, traders reportedly bought dry and clean palay at an average of P13.40 per kg. This translates to about P12.51 per kg for wet palay, based on BusinessMirror’s computation using PSA’s formula. The figure is on a par with the breakeven cost of producing rice.
The nationwide average buying price of P17.12 per kg for dry palay is equivalent to P16 per kg for fresh or wet palay, based on BusinessMirror’s computation.
PRiSM data
Citing results of a price survey made by the Philippine Rice Information System (PRiSM), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the price of freshly harvested palay in Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon averaged P14 per kg.
The PRiSM survey data also showed that the average farm-gate price of dry palay was at P18 per kg in Central Luzon and P19 per kg in Cagayan Valley. The survey was conducted from September 16 to September 30, according to DA.
Central Luzon accounts for roughly 19 percent of the country’s total annual output while Cagayan Valley accounts for 12.5 percent, making them the country’s two top-producing regions.
“Grains traders and middlemen usually buy wet or freshly harvested palay, with high moisture content or MC, at 35 percent to 40 percent lower than dried grains at 14 percent MC, as they shoulder the costs of hauling, transportation, and drying,” it said.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the results of the survey debunk the “disinformation waged by interest groups” that the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law caused the decline in palay prices.
“The interest groups, along with former DA officials, have exaggerated data on palay to push for the amendment or repeal of the RTL. They are resurrecting old arguments against RTL,” Dar said.
“As the [PRiSM data shows], the claim of interest groups on social media regarding the price of rice is far from reality.”
Dar added that the government has “more reliable data” which it uses to make decisions related to interventions for the Philippine rice industry. “We go to communities to monitor and ensure that our interventions are in place and will benefit our farmers.”
The DA also called out the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) for supposedly leading the “interest groups” in pushing for the review and amendment of the RTL law.
FFF rebuttal
The FFF on Sunday refuted the claims of DA and Dar that the prevailing farm-gate prices in major rice-producing areas are on a par with the National Food Authority’s support price of P19 per kg.
Citing reports from farmers and traders, FFF said the prevailing prices for dry and clean palay range from P15 per kg to P17 per kg while wet or freshly harvested palay fetches anywhere from P11 to P14 per kg.
FFF also said farmers are forced to sell fresh palay as they lack facilities for drying, cleaning, storage and trucks to transport their crop.
“It is a pity that Secretary Dar, whose primary concern should be to heed his farmer constituents and help them cope with low prices, is now calling them liars and peddlers of fake news,” the group said.
“He is also doing a disservice to President Duterte and the Filipino people by painting a rosy picture of a socially explosive situation affecting millions of desperate rice farmers amid the pandemic,” the group added.
Image credits: Laila Austria