By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Amid uncertainties regarding inflationary pressures, the Marcos Jr. administration continues to find ways to ease the burden on Filipino consumers.
Such efforts include the imposition of a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on rice, which the Department of Agriculture (D.A.) plans to reduce to P43 per kilo this July.
“We plan to reduce the MSRP of imported rice to P43 per kilo starting July 1, from the current P45, in response to the recent decline in global rice prices,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. announced.
The D.A. first implemented the MSRP in January to reflect President Marcos Jr.’s decision to reduce rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent beginning in July. This move coincided with a drop in world rice prices following India’s lifting of its export ban on non-basmati rice and waning demand after last year’s El Niño episode.
On January 28, the initial MSRP for 5 percent broken imported rice was set at P58 per kilo. It was gradually lowered to P45 by March 31. Said initiative has bolstered food security and tamed inflation, thus helping to spur economic activity and generate jobs.
Secretary Tiu-Laurel also expects corresponding adjustments in the prices of rice sold under the D.A.’s Rice-for-All program. Currently, 5 percent broken rice is priced at P43 per kilo, 25 percent broken at P35, and 100 percent broken at P33.
These initiatives are aligned with the administration’s “Benteng Bigas Meron Na!” campaign, which fulfills President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s promise to provide rice at P20 per kilo. The program will run until the end of his term in June 2028.
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