The public can expect lower prices for rice and meat by the end of the month, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a press briefing that, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the price of rice could drop to P45 per kilo from the current price of P49.

Additionally, the prices of some pork products may also decrease, with kasim (pork shoulder) and pigue (leg/ham) going down to between P350 and P360 per kilo, and liempo (pork belly) to P380 per kilo.

Castro attributed the decrease in the price of rice to the falling global market prices.

“If before the price was hitting $700 to $740 per ton, now it has dropped to $400 or less, or even as low as $380 per ton,” she said.

The rice variety expected to see the price drop is the Dai Thom 8 (DT8), a high-quality, light fragrant rice from Vietnam that has become the public’s preferred choice for good quality rice.