Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) has announced its plans to reduce the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for 5 percent broken imported rice to PHP43 per kilogram from July 1, in an effort to further reduce rice retail prices and benefit Filipino consumers, in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

According to Philippines News Agency, the MSRP was last adjusted on March 31 following a series of reductions that began in January from PHP58 per kilogram. DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel communicated through a Viber message that the reduction aims to bring down retail prices in local markets and affect the prices of other rice varieties.

Laurel noted that the target prices are the lower PHP40s for 5 percent broken rice, mid-PHP30s for 25 percent broken rice, and lower PHP30s for 100 percent broken rice. This announcement comes as rice inflation was recorded at -12.8 percent in May, a decrease from -10.9 percent in April, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

As of June 4, the prices for imported premium and well-milled rice in Metro Manila were PHP45 per kilogram and PHP40.5 per kilogram for imported regular-milled rice. Prices for premium imported rice ranged from PHP43 to PHP50 per kilogram, well-milled from PHP38 to PHP48, and regular-milled from PHP35 to PHP45.

The DA attributes the ongoing decline in rice prices to several government interventions, such as setting the MSRP on imported rice, launching PHP20-per-kilogram rice under the 'Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na' initiative, and making Rice-for-All (RFA) varieties available, along with declaring a food security emergency for rice.

For the DA's Rice-for-All program, the price per kilogram was previously set at PHP43 for RFA5, PHP35 for RFA25, and PHP33 for RFA100. Laurel also confirmed that the MSRP reduction would not negatively impact the buying price of local harvests at the end of the harvest season.