PSA said farmgate prices of palay averaged at P16.94 per kilo from January to June, lower than the P17.42 per kilo recorded in the same period last year.
The average farmgate price of palay (unhusked rice) dropped by 2.8 percent in the first half of the year, while the country’s inventory of rice dropped to its lowest in three years.
These were the dire statistics published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in its latest report in the country’s agricultural sector.
PSA said farmgate prices of palay averaged at P16.94 per kilo from January to June, lower than the P17.42 per kilo recorded in the same period last year.
“The monthly average farmgate price of palay ranged from P 16.40 to P17.22 per kilogram,” the PSA said.
The lowest average farmgate price for this year was recorded in January at P16.40 per kilo, while the highest was registered in March at P17.22 per kilo.
The average wholesale price of rice dropped by 1.9 percent to P37.48 per kilo.
“The monthly average wholesale price of rice during the period ranged from P37.04 to P 38.06 per kilo,” the PSA said.
Rice inventories
Meanwhile, PSA also said that the nationwide rice inventory as of August 1 declined by 11.6 percent to 1.587 million metric tons (MMT), 208,000 MT lower than the 1.786 MMT recorded last year.
“Likewise, rice stocks inventory declined by 27.5 percent compared with the previous month’s level of 2,177.68 thousand metric tons,” the lowest since the 1.168 MMT recorded in September 2018.
Rice inventory in households reached 751,070 MT while those in the commercial sector and NFA warehouses reached 648,400 MT and 178,840 MT, respectively, based on PSA data.
Tags: #PhilippineStatisticsAuthority, #agriculture, #rice, #farmgateprices