BY GLENDA TAYONA & IME SORNITO
ILOILO City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas monitored a slight increase in the prices of rice in the region.
Maria Teresa Solis, chief of DA Region 6’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division, said the average price of premium rice in six provinces increased from P44.80 per kilo last week to P45.83 this week.
For regular milled rice, there was an increase of P.23 centavo or from P39.10 per kilo last week to P39.33 this week.
A decrease, meanwhile, was noted for well-milled rice. The price last week was P42.40; it dropped to P41.83 this week. Solis said this was partly due to the lower price in Antique.
DA-6 conducts weekly price monitoring.
The main reason for the rice price hike was the end of the harvest season in the region, sid Solis, citing the law of supply and demand.
“Kon nubu ang supply, taas gid ang price and then basi bala gamay ang importation,” she explained.
However, she noted the level of rice sufficiency in Region 6 is over 100 percent. In fact, there is an oversupply, but some of these went to or were supplied to other provinces outside Western Visayas like Cebu, Negros Oriental and Leyte, sad Solis.
She added that some of the rice in Panay Island were also supplied to Bacolod City especially that the latter is only over 90 percent rice sufficient.
“Indi man gid problema in Region 6 in terms of rice supply,” she said.
However, Solis said rice price increase is expected to continue especially with the looming El Niño phenomenon that could delay the planting season of rice farmers.
Market retail price of rice up by P2 to P3
In Iloilo City, the retail price of rice, both imported and local, increased by P2 to P3.
Retailers experienced an uptick in prices beginning the last week of February and March or during the end of the rice harvest season.
Rice retailer from Iloilo Central Market, Jose P. Hocon Jr., confirmed this to Panay News.
“Kon bugas sige lang tinaas ya,” said Hocon.
Before March this year, Hocon was still buying P950 per 25 kilograms of imported rice (Jasmin). But this April, prices were at P1,170 for 25 kilograms or a P220 increase.
Because of this, Hocon’s retail sales are also affected. From P47 to P48 per kilogram of imported rice, it has now increased to P50.
The same goes for local rice.
Before, he was buying P1,750 per 50 kilograms of local rice, but this increased to P2,000 or a P250 increase.
Hocon said it is off-season thus a price increase is expected.
“Paminsara bala halin sa P47 tapos nag-P50, pero kon pasugtan lang kami madugang pa ina tani. Pero indi ka man kabaligya sang mahal kay damo man kami diri nagabaligya,” he lamented.
Below are the retail prices of local rice sold by Hocon:
* Special rice – P50 per kilogram
* Premium grade rice – P48 per kilogram
* Yummy Rice (Dinorado) – P60 per kilogram
* Regular milled rice – 46 per kilogram
* Sinandomeng – P44 per kilogram
* Red rice – P60 per kilogram
For imported rice, he only sells Jasmin rice, which now costs P50 per kilogram, from the initial P47 to P48 per kilogram.
Lolita Zulla from Iloilo Central Market echoed the same.
Before, Zulla could buy one sack of local rice (50 kilograms) for P1,800 to P1,900. This month, she said, it has increased to P2,100.
From P38 to P42 per kilogram of local rice, it is now P45, she said.
Imported rice (Jasmin) used to cost P2,000 per sack (50 kilograms) in February and March, but it increased to P2,250 per sack this April.
Thus, the retail price of Zulla’s imported rice also increased from P45 to P47, now at P50 per kilogram.
Below are the retail prices of rice sold by Zulla:
For local rice – Red rice, P60 per kilogram; Premium rice – P47 per kilogram
For imported rice – Jasmin – P50 per kilogram
Sione Soliguen, also a rice vendor at the Iloilo Central Market, said the retail price of rice went up after the price they got from the supplier went up, too.
For imported rice (Jasmin), from P2,200 per sack, it went up to P2,300, causing Soliguen’s retail price to go up, too.
“Nagtaas gid man P2 to P3 per kilo. Ang sa amon imported rice nga Jasmin sa subong P49, pero sang nagligad P47 lang sia,” said Soliguen.
At the Iloilo Terminal Market, Dondon Blancada said both imported and local rice prices increased from P2 to P3 per kilogram.
Before he could purchase a sack (25 kilograms) of imported rice (Jasmin) for P970. But now it is up to P1,070.
Blancada said the retail price of imported rice currently went up to P50 per kilogram from P47.
For local rice, the retail price is currently at P42 per kilogram from its previous price of P38 to P39 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, data from DA-6 showed the total rice production in the region was 2,321,593 metric tons (MT) in 2022.
The province of Iloilo was the top producing province in the region with 1,016, 587 metric tons of rice, which was 154 percent sufficient. Negros Occidental followed with 460, 535 MT (42.79 percent sufficient); Capiz – 354,849 MT (165 percent sufficient); Antique – 313,061 MT (185 percent sufficient); Aklan – 111, 580 MT (91 percent sufficient); and Guimaras – 64,978 MT (138 percent sufficient)./PN