THE average retail prices of rice in end-August rose by double digits to new all-time highs as the slim market presence of the National Food Authority (NFA) proved unable to check the spike in retail prices of the staple.
The average retail prices of well-milled and regular-milled rice in the fourth week of August grew by 11.30 percent and 15.24 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“The average retail price of well-milled rice at P47.12 per kilogram [kg] posted a higher rate of increase from previous week’s level by 2.30 percent,” it said in its recent price-monitoring report.
“Similarly, the average retail price of regular-milled rice at P43.86 per kg went up by 3.01 percent, from previous week’s level of P42.85 per kg,” it added.
Based on PSA data compiled by the BusinessMirror, this is the first time that the average retail price of well-milled rice broke the P47-per-kg price level.
The P43.86-per-kg average retail quotation of regular-milled rice is also the highest in the country’s history, according to PSA data.
At the wholesale trade, well-milled rice was sold at an average of P44.49 per kg, 13.21 percent higher than the P39.30-per-kg level it posted a year ago. The figure was also 2.21 percent over the previous week’s average wholesale price of P43.81 per kg. This is the first time that the wholesale price of well-milled rice reached the P44-per-kg price level.
“At the wholesale trade, the average price of regular-milled rice at P41.49 per kg during the week recorded a faster rate of increase of 3.23 percent from the level a week ago,” the PSA said.
“On an annual basis, it accelerated by 16.32 percent during the week,” the PSA added.
Rice is usually more expensive during the lean months of July to September, when harvest declines significantly. The arrival of rice imported by the NFA was expected to ease the increase in rice prices.
However, bad weather delayed the delivery of rice imports to NFA’s warehouses and prevented the agency from immediately distributing rice to local markets.
In fact, the NFA is importing an additional 250,000 metric tons (MT) of rice via open tender to beef up its stockpile and arrest the spiking retail prices of the staple in the market.
The additional volume is expected to arrive in the country in November, when almost all of the country’s rice-producing provinces are harvesting.
“The additional importation can increase NFA’s active participation in the market by as much as 20 percent,” the NFA said.
From January to August 23, the NFA said it has distributed a total of 4,443,082 bags of rice through its accredited retailers, outlets and other recipients.
Currently, the NFA distributes rice through its 15,892 accredited retailers and outlets inside and outside markets, such as Institutionalized Bigasan sa Palengke, Biogasan Bayan, Barangay Bagsakan/Barangay Food Terminal, Bigasan sa Parokya, rolling stores and the Tagpuan Rice Response Delivery in remote barangays.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes