SRP implementation for rice delayed

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has decided to slightly delay the implementation of the suggested retail price (SRP) for Filipinos’ main staple amid the request of the rice industry for additional time to prepare.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the SRP would be implemented starting this Saturday instead of yesterday, the original target schedule.

“This is following the request of rice industry stakeholders for a three-day period to prepare the signages in the retail outlets,” he explained.

Last week, rice stakeholders had agreed and finalized that all commercial rice to be sold in the public markets will have an SRP and will only be classified as imported or local rice and will then be identified as regular-milled, well-milled, premium and special rice.

During the final leg of consultation yesterday, it was also agreed that the use of fancy brand names would be banned to stop the mislabeling and deception in the marketing of rice.

The SRP for imported well-milled rice is P39 per kilo while that of imported premium is P43 per kilo.

For local rice, the regular-milled variety is at P39 per kilo while well-milled is at P44 per kilo. Premium rice should not exceed P47 per kilo.

There will be no SRP for special rice, which include the likes of Cordillera heirloom, organic rice, jasponica, Doña Maria, hinumay, malido, malagkit and other indigenous rice varieties.

Piñol said penalties and sanctions would include cancellation of NFA licenses, fines and possible criminal charges.

The SRP scheme will initially cover Metro Manila and nearby cities within the Greater Manila area. However, the DA will also start consulting stakeholders for the SRP scheme in supermarkets and for other region regions next week.

Piñol added that the SRP would be a “moving SRP” that will be reviewed every 15 days.

Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said retailers could now apply for direct importation of rice and sugar and sell this at a pegged price in Philippine markets.

“The procedure will be on a first come, first served basis and will be open to those who can guarantee selling at no more than P38 per kilo for rice and no more than P50 per kilo for sugar,” he said.

He added that this scheme is being implemented as part of government measures to mitigate the effects of inflation on food prices.

The government is set to conduct two huge consecutive biddings next week for the remaining 703,000 metric tons (MT) of rice in an effort to flood the market with the commodity and bring down prices.

Piñol said this came after the National Food Authority Council approved the proposal to bid out a total of 750,000 MT at the soonest time to ensure adequate supply of the staple during calamities.

He added that at least two to three typhoons are expected to enter the country before the year ends. – With Louella Desiderio