Gov’t weighs P50/kg cap on imported rice

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is considering imposing a P50-per-kilo price ceiling on imported rice as rising oil prices push up shipping and input costs and trigger concerns about profiteering in the local market.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Monday the government is studying the cap to keep retail prices from climbing further while protecting the farmgate prices for palay.

“We are studying the imposition of a price cap on imported rice, possibly P50 per kilo,” Laurel said.

He said the DA is reviewing the legality of the measure and, if allowed, will recommend it to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as part of a package of responses to the latest oil shock.

For now, the DA is holding off on a similar cap on locally produced rice to avoid undermining palay prices during the harvest.

“We may impose a price cap on local rice after the harvest to avoid profiteering,” he said.

The move comes as tensions affecting tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz are driving oil prices higher, raising fertilizer, fuel and freight costs.

Freight rates have already doubled, pushing the landed cost of the widely imported DT8 rice variety close to $500 per metric ton, the DA said.

Despite this, Laurel said retail prices of P60 to P65 per kilo seen in some markets is “bordering on profiteering.”

To cool prices, the DA has ordered state-run firms such as Food Terminal Inc. and Planters Products Inc. to sell rice at P45 and P48 per kilo.

The agencies have started selling in Metro Manila and may expand to Southern Luzon, Cebu City and other key cities.