EXPECT price of local commodities – especially rice to increase further, says former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor even as he cited figures which tend to show P52 per kilo as the lowest cost of rice in the market.
“I will not be surprised if the retail price (of rice) will continue to increase as the farmgate price of palay reached around P30 per kilo, and if you convert it to rice, it’s times two, that’s P60,” Montemayor was quoted in a recent radio interview.
Aside from locally produced rice, he also took note of the spike even in the retail price of imported grains – “The government resorted to importation to prevent a shortage in the supply, but the prices in the world market also went up and there is also the threat of El Niño,” Montemayor added.
Questionable Data
Montemayor likewise questioned the veracity of the claim of the Department of Agriculture (DA), which earlier insisted that the country has enough supply of rice at least until March of next year, based on a supposed rice inventory.
“We have been asking whether the data, analysis and projections of the official government statistics agency, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is accurate. We already wrote a letter around June this year, we asked if the data on the supply of rice was accurate as there is a big discrepancy between the report of the PSA compared to the data of the DA and the private sector,” averred the former DA chief.
He also called on Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to fix the problem by implementing radical reforms within the agency – “It (system) needs to be reviewed. Hopefully, Secretary Laurel will be able to enforce important reforms. The poor get to suffer because of wrong decisions.”
Obvious Discrepancies
Based on the monitoring of the agri department in Metro Manila markets, the retail price of local regular milled rice are being sold for as high as P52 per kilo; local well-milled rice, P57 per kilo; local premium rice, P60 per kilo; local special rice, P68 per kilo.
Imported well-milled rice are sold at P52 per kilo; imported premium rice, P60 per kilo and imported special rice, P65 per kilo.
Previously, the DA chief issued Memorandum Circular 53 directing all importers to utilize the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance within 30 days (from the date of issuance) amid reports of rampant non-utilization of the permits.
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