The cost of Philippine rice marks a new all-time high in the past 15 years, the Philippines Statistics Authority reported on Tuesday.

In a virtual briefing, PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said rice inflation in the National Capital Region fastened to 15.5 percent last month from 14.6 percent in January 2024.

“Yung ating rice inflation noong Pebrero was recorded at 23.7 percent, last January it was 22.6 percent. This is the major contributor dun sa overall inflation and the inflation of the bottom 30 percent of income households,” he said, noting that the recorded price inflation last month was the highest since the recorded 24.6 percent in February 2009.

(Our rice inflation in February was recorded at 23.7 percent, last January it was 22.6 percent. This is the major contributor to overall inflation and the inflation of the bottom 30 percent of income households.)

Mapa added that the statistics bureau tracked the movements in average prices of three sub-rice groups: regular-milled, well-milled, and special rice, which are continuously increasing on a month-on-month basis.

"For regular milled rice, the average price last month was P50.44 per kilo from P39.65 per kilo in February, which had a year-on-year increase of around 27.2 percent," said Mapa.

In January 2024, it was registered at P49.56 per kilo. It recorded a 1.6 percent increase from last month’s price.

For well-milled rice, the PSA official said it was registered at P55.93 per kilo last month, higher compared to P43.99 per kilo in the same month last year, recording a 27.1 percent year-on-year increase.

Last January, its average price was P54.91, indicating an approximate 1.9 percent month-on-month increase.

For special rice, the average price last month was P64.42 per kilo, a rise from P53.89 per kilo in the same month last year. It registered a 19.5 percent year-on-year increase.

Last January, it was priced at an average of P63.90, hitting a 0.8 percent month-on-month increase.

“Of course may impact yung mga increase na nakita natin, as I mentioned last month, mababa kasi yung rice inflation last year mula January hanggang sometime July, so like last year, yung ating rice inflation, February 2023 sa buong bansa ay nasa 2 percent, so mababa ang pinanggalingan niya, medyo mababa ang presyo, tapos ngayon tumaas.”

(Of course the increases that we have seen have an impact, at the same time as I mentioned last month, because the rice inflation last year was low from January to sometime July, so like last year, our rice inflation, February 2023 throughout the country will be at 2 percent, so his origin was low, the price was quite low, and now it has increased.)

He added: “Assuming na no reduction in price and the movement will continue, we should be expecting high rice inflation until July or August this year.”

(Assuming no reduction in price and the movement will continue, we should be expecting high rice inflation until July or August this year.)

Mapa added that the continued increasing rice prices in the country are due to rice prices also increasing in the world market and its ‘tight supply.’

Meanwhile, he said that the statistics agency is currently collecting data regarding the local palay production this year.

“Hindi pa namin nakikita kung meron bang drop tayo year on year, quarter on quarter, but we will report it soon once the data is available.”

(We have not yet seen if we have a drop year on year, quarter on quarter, but we will report it soon once the data is available.)

The country’s headline inflation rate last month slightly increased to 3.4 percent, higher than the 2.8 percent headline inflation rate recorded in January 2024.

In the 3.4 percent overall inflation rate, rice contributed 1.6 percentage points.