Rice prices up for 6th straight month

MANILA, Philippines — Rice prices have been increasing since the start of the year following the lack of supply of cheaper rice from state-run National Food Authority (NFA).

But the NFA is expecting prices to slowly stabilize this month as rice imports started arriving this week.

Farm gate price of paddy rice continued its upward trend for six consecutive months after it posted an increment of 10 percent at the start of this month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

In its regular update on palay (rice prior to husking), rice and corn prices, the PSA said the average price of palay went up to P21.16 per kilogram from P19.20 per kg last year. Week-on-week, prices were also up 0.4 percent.

The average wholesale price of well-milled rice rose seven percent to P41.35 per kg year-on-year and week-on-week prices inched up by a minimal 0.12 percent.

The average retail price of well-milled rice increased to P44.11 per kg, up by six percent year-on-year.

The wholesale price of regular-milled rice was P37.93 per kg, eight percent higher than the previous year. Its average retail price also increased seven percent to P40.36 per kg.

An initial shipment of 16,000 metric tons (MT) arrived from Vietnam as part of the first 250,000 MT procured via government-to-government tender last month.

As of the end of last month, 76,700 MT were being loaded in five vessels at the ports of origin while 86,700 MT were ready to be loaded. A suitable ship was being nominated for the balance of 70,600 MT.

PSA earlier said the country’s rice inventory remains low this year as it went down by 18 percent to 2.18 million MT as of April.

The PSA reported that total rice inventory as of end-April was lower than the 2.68 million MT recorded last year and was 29 percent lower than the 1.7 million MT recorded in the previous month.

Farm gate prices of white corn grain rose 21 percent to P16.57 per kg. Week-on-week, prices were down one percent.

Prices of yellow corn grain likewise picked up by 21 percent year-on-year to P13.84 per kg and increased by one percent on a weekly basis.

The average wholesale price of yellow corn grain increased 12 percent to P20.07 per kg.

‘Insensitive’ economic managers

Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) yesterday condemned government economic managers for failing to roll out the anti-poverty programs of the Duterte administration.

In a statement, TUCP accused these economic managers of “lack of prudence and judgment in their economic planning,” citing their “predictive failure in forecasting the consequences of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.”

“Where is the change (that President Duterte promised) to bring about? Instead, in the face of massive price hikes of basic good and commodities, the economic managers are demonstrating insensitivity,” the group said.

TUCP vice president Luis Corral said Duterte should take the frontline in the fight against inflation. 

“We call on President Duterte to outline his game plan now to bring down prices, improve the quality of life, ensure genuine social inclusion, address our need for a living wage and guarantee that no one will be left behind,” he added.

TUCP claimed that the price monitoring efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry are “perfunctory and ineffective.”  

It also expressed exasperation on the rice importation by the NFA, saying it is merely a “stop-gap measure.”

As this developed, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) has expressed its support to the call for a nationwide monthly subsidy of P500 for minimum wage earners.

The monthly subsidy was proposed earlier by the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP and was conveyed to Duterte to help minimum wage earners cope with the rising cost of commodities.

ECOP, however, has opposed labor groups’ call for the implementation of a P800-per-day national minimum wage.

ECOP warned that a wage hike at this time would only aggravate the situation of the unemployed.

For his part, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday said the country’s quantitative restriction on rice imports should be replaced with a 35 percent tariff that is expected to make the staple food more affordable for all, – With Sheila Crisostomo, Richmond Mercurio, Paolo Romero