RICE prices should go down starting by the middle of October as higher-priced old stocks are consumed and replaced with cheaper new stocks, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said on Tuesday, October 8.
During a Senate hearing, Laurel said the price of rice should go down in the final quarter of 2024 but the full effect will be felt by January.
“I call it my fearless forecast, is bababa na ‘yan [rice] starting mid to end of October,” Tiu Laurel told senators. Kung ngayon P50 ‘yan, dapat P45 at least.”
Rice prices have been decreasing, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, which has led to a slower-than-expected inflation rate in September.
Tiu Laurel also told senators that the National Food Authority will bring down the price of palay to P23 per kilo next week from up to P27 a kilo at present.
“But of course, we have to inform naman the farmers first para ‘i sila ma-shock,” Tiu Laurel said. He said that even at this lower buying price, farmers will still be earning.
The country remains the top rice importer in the world, Tiu Laurel said. He estimated that the country imported 3.6 million tonnes last year, while it may import 3.8 million tonnes this year and 3.9 million tonnes next year.
Aside from rice, the Philippines is set to import products such as fish, white onions and even ginger to stabilize the prices of these commodities.
Pork prices meanwhile are not expected to spike with the advent of the Christmas season, he said. This is because hog farmers are opting to slaughter their pigs out of fear that they may get infected with the African swine fever. (ABS-CBN News)
