CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Rice retail sellers here asked the government yesterday to help them implement the price ceiling ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last Thursday.

The rice traders said following the P41 per kilo price ceiling for regular milled rice and P45/kilo cap for  well-milled rice would result in losses for their small businesses.

Mr. Marcos imposed the rice price ceiling following reports by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry that hoarders had been creating an artificial shortage for the staple grain to jack up prices.

Aside from the DA and DTI, the President tasked the justice and interior and local government departments to ensure adherence to the price cap and to prosecute violators.

Franklin Dakota, the president of rice vendors in this city, said they are buying from traders over the price ceiling.

"We bought our current stock at P59 per kilo, so how can we sell at P45 per kilo?" Dakota said in a statement to media and the local government of Cagayan de Oro City.

Councillor Geroge Goking, the chairman of the city council committee on trade and commerce, assured vendors that the city government will provide assistance to the distressed vendors

He said he would meet with the rice vendors next week to find out how the city government can help them avoid losses while implementing the cap.

President Macos has approved the recommendation to set a cap on rice prices nationwide to address the rising prices of rice in the market.

Last week, the President inspected rice warehouses, during which he ordered law enforcement agencies to crack down on hoarding.

The government said the arrival of imported rice and the surplus being seen in the coming local harvest season would ensure sufficient buffer for the coming months.