The Department of Agriculture is taking a more aggressive stance in protecting Filipino consumers from volatile food prices by lowering the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of imported rice starting next month.

“We plan to reduce the MSRP of imported rice to P43 per kilo starting 1 July, from the current P45, in response to the recent decline in global rice prices,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced.

The price adjustment reflects the DA’s continuing effort to manage food inflation and ensure access to affordable rice, especially for low-income families.

The agency first rolled out the MSRP scheme in January, coinciding with a planned tariff cut on rice imports from 35 percent to 15 percent beginning in July.

The DA’s price-setting policy comes as international rice prices dipped, following India’s lifting of its export ban on non-basmati rice and weaker global demand after last year’s El Niño.

Since its implementation, the DA has gradually reduced the MSRP for 5 percent broken imported rice — from P58 per kilo in late January to P45 by the end of March. This price recalibration has helped ease inflationary pressures and supported monetary policy adjustments aimed at boosting economic activity.

Beyond import controls, the DA is also recalibrating pricing under its Rice-for-All program, with Tiu Laurel confirming that adjustments will follow the new MSRP.

Currently, 5-percent broken rice under the program is priced at P43 per kilo, 25 percent broken at P35, and 100 percent broken at P33.

The measures fall under the agency’s broader commitment to strengthen food affordability through its “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” campaign, which aligns with the goal of providing rice at P20 per kilo.

While the pilot phase of the P20-per-kilo rice program starting last month, the DA has taken the lead in designing, testing, and implementing the structure, which is expected to benefit up to 14 million low-income and minimum-wage earners by year-end.

“I wouldn’t have pursued this program — especially not the President — if it hadn’t been thoroughly studied. He spent three years examining it before we began implementing it last month,” Tiu Laurel said, defending the program’s economic and logistical viability.

As the DA leads the implementation on the ground, legislative support is also building.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has instructed congressional policy teams to assess the feasibility of adopting the P20-per-kilo rice initiative as a long-term national policy.

The House has expressed readiness to legislate the program, reinforcing the DA’s technical groundwork with broader institutional backing.