DA expects rice prices to drop further

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) expects rice prices to go down further following optimistic results from the August inflation report of the Philippine Statistics Authority.

DA spokesman Arnel de Mesa said they expect a slower rate of inflation for rice, which was at 14.7 percent last month from 20.9 percent in July.

“We are expecting that rice prices will go down further. We can now see regular and well-milled rice priced at P42 to P45 to P46,” De Mesa said.

Aside from the very strong harvest this year, there have also been decreases in rice prices in the international market.

He attributed this to the active mitigation measures implemented by the DA and local government units despite the onslaught of El Niño.

However, De Mesa said there might be upcoming threats to the local agriculture industry such as the looming La Niña phenomenon and pressures in the international market such as the standing ban on rice sales in India.

The DA hopes to keep the prices of rice stable by increasing local production.

“We continue to work hard to increase local production and beat the target 20.06 million metric tons last year,” he said.