Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that the continuous arrival of imported rice should result in cheaper retail prices as the Philippines approaches its peak harvest season. Spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa emphasized the necessity for imported rice prices to decrease, even though there is currently no maximum suggested retail price for 5 percent broken imported rice.

According to Philippines News Agency, the DA's Bantay Presyo (Price Watch) reported that premium imported rice in Metro Manila is currently priced between PHP50 and PHP63 per kilo. The price per kilo for imported well-milled rice ranges from PHP43 to PHP49, while imported regular-milled rice costs between PHP36 and PHP46. In comparison, local premium rice is priced from PHP43 to PHP60 per kilo, with well-milled and regular milled rice priced at PHP45 and PHP40 per kilo, respectively.

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has recorded over 700,000 metric tons (MT) of imported rice arrivals as of February 26, with 333,000 MT arriving in February and about 374,000 MT in January. De Mesa noted that these figures align with the country's monthly requirement of 300,000 MT to 350,000 MT, with a maximum threshold of 400,000 MT.

Traders and importers have agreed to limit rice imports during the peak harvest season, restricting imports to 150,000 MT per month from March to April. This move aims to protect local farmers from unreasonable farmgate prices of palay (unhusked rice) during the harvest period.