CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — Northern Mindanao’s inflation rate for December 2024 eased to 2.6 percent, a significant decline from 4.8 percent in December 2023, largely due to a sharp drop in the inflation rate for cereals and cereal products, with rice being a major contributor to this slowdown.
Ferdinand Caraballe, Supervising Agriculturist of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-10, acknowledged the slower inflation in rice prices but expressed concerns about the long-term impact.
“Although nagkunhod atong inflation sa rice, wala mi nalipay kay ang amo gyud target is negative, dapat mobaba gyud and presyo sa rice kay nisulod na man ang imported,” Caraballe said.
(Although rice inflation has decreased, we are not entirely pleased, as our target is a negative inflation rate. The goal is to see prices drop further, especially with the influx of imported rice.)
He explained that their analysis suggests possible retail-side manipulation, noting that some retailers mislabel regular rice as “special” or “premium” to inflate prices. He said they are awaiting the issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) on removing premium classification labels to address this issue. Once the IRR is in place, the DA-10 plans to enforce the regulation through market administrators to remove misleading labels such as “regular,” “well-milled,” and “special” rice.
Caraballe also highlighted that locally-produced rice remains expensive, with prices ranging from P55 to P60 per kilogram, compared to imported rice, which is priced between P36 and P45 per kilogram. This, he said, remains a concern.
“Ang among napansin is baba pud ang mechanization level. Ang mechanization level kay mag manual gihapon halos tanan work sa farm,” he further said.
(We observed low mechanization levels, with most farm work still done manually.)
To address this, the DA is planning to invest in the acquisition of additional farming machinery, including tractors, which will be distributed to cooperatives to help improve production efficiency and lower the cost of locally-produced rice.
Caraballe added that the DA will focus on improving irrigation and providing seeds and fertilizers to subsidize the major cost components of rice production, which include seeds, fertilizer, labor, and irrigation.
“Hopefully, these efforts will help lower rice production costs,” he stated. (APB/PIA-10)
