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| Vegetable stall market in the Philippines. Image by Greenpeace |
By Manny Piñol
As projected, prices of commercial rice in the market have started to stabilize as harvests have begun and the shipment of imported rice by the private sector has arrived.
Reports coming in from the regions yesterday indicated that the price of rice went down by as much as P5 per kilo and it is expected to go lower by the last week of this month when the Suggested Retail Prices (SRP) for three classifications of commercial rice will be implemented.
The drop in the price of rice was an added relief to the stabilization of the supply and prices of vegetables as early as last week.
With good weather and additional sources of vegetables in Northern Mindanao identified and linked to the market, the prices went down by over one half.
The controversial Red "Labuyo," whose price opposition politicians claimed was at P1,000 per kilo three weeks ago, is now down to P300 while the variety used for broth or "sinigang" was sold for only P150 per kilo during the recent TienDA Malasakit event in Taguig City.
While the drop in the price of rice in the market has given relief to consumers, the rice farmers are now starting to complain that at the start of the harvest season, the buying price of their produce fell from a high P25 per kilo a month ago to only P16 now.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority (NFA), which has been returned to the DA along with two other agencies a month ago, have started a Rice Procurement Program at a higher price of P20.70, which includes a P3 incentive, to protect the country's rice farmers from plummeting prices.
Incentives like farm machinery and equipment, including free drying of their produce in NFA dryers, are also being offered to the farmers.
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