13 hours ago
DA eyes lower MSRP for imported rice in July
The Department of Agriculture (DA) over the weekend announced plans to lower the maximum suggested retail price of imported rice by P2 per kilo starting next month, following the decline in the prices of the commodity in the global market.
In a statement released Sunday, the DA said it plans to reduce the MSRP of imported rice to P43 per kilo starting July 1, 2025 from the current P45 per kilo that took place on March 31, 2025.
Latest data available from the DA's price monitoring show that prices of imported commercial rice in Metro Manila ranged from P39.83 per kilo to P58.65 per kilo as of last Wednesday, June 4, depending on the specification.
To recall, President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., under Executive Order 62 issued in June 2024, lowered tariff rates for rice to 15% until 2028 from 35% previously.
This comes as the administration seeks to lower the price of commercial rice, with the P20-per-kilo rice being sold in KADIWA or Kautwang sa Diwa at Gawa para sa Masaganing Ani at Mataas na Kita Centers starting in May, with the pilot set to go through December. This was the campaign promise of Marcos during his presidential run in 2022.
Under the program, the government is set to procure rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) at P33 per kilo. These will then be sold at P20 per kilo, with the P13 per kilo subsidy to be shared by the national government and the local government units at P6.50 each.
'Marami pa rin ang nagdududa kung paano masu-sustain o patatagalin itong P20 rice na ito. May stock pa ba tayo ng bigas? Kaya ba ito na bayaran ng gobyerno?' Marcos said in a vlog released Sunday.
'Masu-sustain po natin 'yan basta't nagtutulungan ang lahat. Ang sisiguruhin natin ay hindi mawawalan ng abot kayang bigas ang ating mga kababayan,' he added.
(There are a lot of doubters if this P20-per-kilo rice can be sustained or extended. Do we still have stocks of rice? Can the government pay for this? We can sustain this as long as everyone helps. We will ensure that our countrymen will not go without affordable rice.)
DA monitoring shows that prices of local commercial rice in Metro Manila markets ranged from P38.17 per kilo to P57.73 per kilo as of June 4, 2025. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/RF, GMA Integrated News
