The National Food Authority (NFA) said it will cut down its buying price for dry and clean palay (unhusked rice) to P23 per kilo, citing that the government could buy more rice at lower prices.

“It's not really an abrupt going down of the price. As mentioned by the Secretary, in a matter of eight to 10 days, that will decrease. Our pricing mechanism is it's a bond or it's a range; what he is saying is that the NFA will have a buying price and that bond will be P23, maybe P23 to P25,” NFA administrator Larry Lacson said Tuesday.

He said palay is currently procured for P25- 27 per kilogram. 

“If you make it P23 to P25, that's P2 less than the bond. That's all it means; it's not absolute; it's still a range,” he said, noting that the new purchase price “will play with the market.”

He added the government has to tame the price of the staple grain to make way for its cheaper value in local markets.

“Also, we can budget our money….if we lower the price of rice, we can buy more rice, and we have more farmers to help,” Lacson said.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Tiu Laurel Jr. said that world prices of rice slightly eased.

He also underscored that the price of rice in the market will not decrease if the buying price of traders and the government is still high. 

“At P23 per kilo, the farmer will still profit. Actually, farmers still profit P21 per kilo. We are managing that we don't forget our farmers,” the Agri chief added.

In April, the rice agency increased the purchase price for palay after its thin procurement due to private traders outbidding them with higher buying prices.

Under the new Price Range Scheme, or PRICERS, fresh and wet palay is bought at P17 to P23 per kilogram and clean and dry palay at P23 to P30 per kilogram.