Following the Philippine Statistics Authority report on high rice inflation last December, the Department of Agriculture said on Saturday that it eyes imposing suggested retail prices on rice.

This is in accordance with Republic Act No. 7581, also referred to as the Price Act, which mandates the protection of consumers by stabilizing the prices of basic necessities and commodities against undue price increases, said DA spokesperson Asec. Arnel de Mesa.

However, the agency still needs to consult with market players and stakeholders before finalizing the SRPs.

"You cannot just issue SRPs without doing consultations with all the stakeholders, from the consumer groups, producer groups, traders, and millers. All of them should be consulted when setting the suggested retail price," the official said in Filipino during an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, stressing that what would be consulted are SRPs and not price ceilings.

De Mesa also noted that they need to assess the producers' and traders' industrial processes and expenditures, as well as the retailers' expenses, to be able to see what to set as rice SRPs.

"We have to look at the composition; how the producer's group produced palay until it became rice. And then on the trader's side, what were their expenses for warehousing, milling, and drying? For the retailers, what were their expenses? When we compare all these factors, we can see what would be the range of the price," said De Mesa.

On Friday, the PSA said that the rate of increase in the rice cost kicked the highest in 14 years during December 2023.

According to PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa, rice inflation accelerated to 19.6% during December from 15.8% recorded in November 2023, making it the fastest rice inflation since March 2009, when it was recorded at 22.9%.

The average price of regular milled rice in December was P48.50 per kilo, up from P46.73 in November 2023. In December 2022, it was recorded to be P39.63 per kilo.

According to De Mesa, the prevailing price as of today for both regular and well-milled rice is P52 per kilo.

"Regular and well-milled are almost the same because, at this time, there is almost no regular-milled rice, and most of the well-milled rice is bought in the market," he said.