Photo courtesy of DA.
QUEZON CITY (PIA) — Affordable regular and well-milled rice priced lower at P42 to P45 per kilo can be bought and is in steady supply in several markets in Quezon City, the Department of Agriculture has reported.
The DA said this is a result of its consultation and negotiation with retailers last week to lower the price of rice by a few pesos compared to the prevailing price of P50 per kilo.
According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., both parties agreed during the consultation to a P3-P5 profit margin per kilo of rice.
“Maraming salamat po sa inyong kooperasyon. Magiging malaking tulong ito para sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino,” Laurel said as he expressed gratitude to the support and cooperation of the rice traders.
He added that the consultation was necessary to address the high retail prices of rice in the markets despite the lowering of tariff.
A market inspection was conducted on Nov. 11 by DA Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness, Marketing, and Consumer Affairs, Atty. Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra, and Assistant Secretary for Special Concerns and Official Development Assistance (ODA) and DA Spokesperson, Arnel De Mesa.
They personally inspected Murphy Public Market, Mega Q-mart, and Kamuning Public Market, all in Quezon City, to check if retailers are selling affordable rice.
De Mesa said during the inspection, “May nakita naman trayo na nagtitinda ng P42-P45 both local and imported. Iyong mas mababa ay local at karamihan ng imported ay premium. Dito may nakita tayo na nagbebenta ng P42-P45 which is in compliance base sa mga naging usapan dito sa tatlong markets.”
The DA has given assurance that the government will directly connect market vendors with importers or traders to streamline the supply chain.
Guevarra said, “Ang sabi po kasi ng mga nakausap namin hindi sustainable ang murang bigas kasi walang nagbebenta sa kanila na ganoong presyo. Ang sabi naman po namin sa kanila, meron po kami na pwede i-connect sa kanila upang hindi na ganoon karaming traders pa ang dadaanan nila.”
“Kasi, kung marami na naman na traders o wholesaler-traders, nadadagdagan pa kahit pa-piso kada sako. Nadadagdagan din sa consumers. Consumers pa rin ang balik noon,” she added.
The DA reiterated its commitment to intensifying price monitoring efforts to ensure regular and well-milled rice remains affordable.
Secretary Laurel vowed, “Hindi ito pansamantala. Patuloy ang pakikipag-usap natin sa mga stakeholders ng bigas at agri-commodities. We will continuously meet with all stake holders in a timely manner from farmer groups to processors trader/importer and retailers to ensure we have stable prices for all within the rice value chain.” (PIA DMD)
