MANILA – The imposition of a SRPs) for rice and the reclassification of rice variants, originally scheduled for Oct. 23, was postponed pending clear guidelines from the National Food Authority (NFA) Council.
Rice retailers are still befuddled by the new government policy, which seeks to address the unabated price increases of rice, the country’s staple food.
“Wala pa kaming notice, Ma’am. ‘Di pa namin alam [ang] gagawin namin,” rice retailer Lolita Lopez explained.
The implementation of SRPs on rice would mean that rice would classified under just four variants: imported regular milled rice priced at P37 per kilo, imported well-milled rice at P40 per kilo, regular milled local rice at P39 per kilo, and well-milled local rice at P44 per kilo.
The SRP for premium rice was still up for discussion, while special rice variants would not have an SRP.
The SRP would initially be in effect in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The implementation of the SRPs, however, was an unwelcome development for rice retailers who feared that the new policy would keep them from even breaking even.
“Paano naman kaming namuhunan ng mataas, tapos i-aano sa amin ng mababa? Buti kung bibigyan kami ng bigas na ganun ang halaga, pwede ‘yun [ganung sistema ng SRP],” Teresita Terado, a retailer, lamented.
“May mga stocks kami na nabili na medyo mahal pa before so baka mahirapan kami i-adjust ang presyo. Kasi ‘di pa [naman] agad ma-dispose ng mabilisan ‘yan,” chimed another retailer, Julie Bautista. (GMA News)
