Retail prices of locally milled rice should not exceed P48 a kilo, Agriculture Asec. Arnel de Mesa said yesterday, assuring consumers of stable rice prices as the major cropping season comes to an end on a bumper harvest.
De Mesa said the palay buying price remains stable at an average of P23 to 25/kilo farmgate price while the average retail price for regular well milled is at P42.80 and the prevailing price for well milled is at P45/kilo.
“As long as we have the stock, we should not exceed P48,” he said.
De Mesa said the wet cropping season harvest is enough to sustain the affordability of locally-produced rice.
“We have harvested about 90 percent of palay across the nation, bought at P22 per kilogram,” he said.
Local harvest may churn out yields of 3.063 million metric tons (MT) for November and December, according to DA estimates.
He said the possible movement in prices was prevalent in areas with remaining standing crops for harvest toward the end of the season.
“Based on data and information from the Philippine Rice Information System, it is generally a good harvest year for the Filipino rice farmers,” De Mesa said.
The national rice outlook for the year is estimated to breach the previous record to reach 20 million MT.
