Palay prices going down in March due to harvest season

MANILA, Philippines - The average farmgate price of palay (unhusked rice) fell in the first and second week of March after several weeks of price increase, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) reported yesterday.

In its palay, rice and corn price report for March 5 to 11, BAS said the average farmgate price of palay quoted at P19.41 per kilogram fell 0.26 percent from the previous week.

Year-on-year, however, prices were up 21. 33 percent.

The country is enjoying increased rice supply as some regions begin to harvest their dry season crop.

The country’s rice stock inventory is also given additional boost as the balance of the 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice imported lastDecember for post-typhoon buffer stocking continues to arrive until the end of the first quarter.

The government is expected to import around 800,000 MT of rice this year for buffer stocking during the traditional lean months of July to September.

The NFA Council is expected to meet before the end of the month and announce the final procurement volume and the bidding terms sometime in April.

Procurement may be done through government-to-government tender, or through open bidding, which would allow all eligible foreign suppliers to vie for rice supply to Manila.

Wholesale and retail prices of well-milled rice rose steadily week-on-week and year-on-year in major trading outlets.

The wholesale price of well-milled rice rose 0.39 percent week-on-week to P38.42 per kilogram, and 17.06 percent year-on-year.

The average retail price of well-milled rice also rose 0.79 percent from the previous week’s quotation of P40.63 per kilogram, and 15.91 percent from last year’s quotation of P35.33 per kilogram.

Wholesale and retail prices of regular milled rice also rose week-on-week.

The average wholesale price of regular milled rice quoted at P35.71 per kilogram during the reference week was higher by 0.45 percent from the previous week’s quotation and by 20.52 percent from a year ago.

Retail price of regular-milled rice quoted at P37.62 per kilogram was higher by 0.64 percent from the previous week’s and by 17.45 percent from the same period last year.

Farmgate prices of yellow and white corngrain, meanwhile, rose week-on-week.

Yellow corngrain’s average farmgate price rose 0.17 percent week-on-week to P12.02 per kilogram and by 1.18 percent from the same period in the previous year.

Farmgate prices of white corngrain rose 2.38 percent week-on-week to P15.49 per kilogram but fell by 6.01 percent year-on-year. Farmgate prices of white corn grain has been rising for two consecutive weeks.

The average wholesale prices of yellow corngrain quoted at P16.46 during the reference period rose 0.49 percent from the previous week, and by 4.51 percent last year.

The average retail price of yellow corngrain rose by 0.05 percent from the previous week’s quotation of P21.96 kilograms. Year-on-year prices fell by 2.05 percent.

The wholesale and retail prices of white corngrain, meanwhile, rose week-on-week  and year-on-year from the reference period.

The average wholesale price of white corngrain quoted at P16.03 per kilogram was up 1.58 percent from the previous week and the same rate in the previous year.

The retail price placed at P21.95 per kilogram rose 2.09 percent week-on-week and 12.56 percent from last year.