The prices of rice in the country are expected to lower as the national government has opened import talks with exporters from Vietnam and India, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Friday.
In a statement, DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said Vietnam exporters said they can provide a US$30 to US$3040 or an estimated ₱1,600 to ₱2,200 price quotation.
"This will hopefully pave the way for the country to get better terms for the additional 300,000 to 500,000 MT [metric tons] rice importation for this year," he said.
Panganiban added that the additional imports will help the country lower prices as it will further beef up the national inventory.
The DA Senior Undersecretary said the rice supply is expected to last by 52 to 57 days by the end of the year.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is expecting price decrease for rice following the government’s continuing talks with Vietnam and India.
— Presidential Communications Office (@pcogovph) August 11, 2023
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In July, President and Agriculture Secretary Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. bared that the country may import rice from India, which is known as the largest rice exporter in the world, due to the damages brought by Typhoon Egay's wrath to the agriculture and to prepare for the looming threat of El Niño.
Last Monday, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez announced that Vietnam National Assembly President Vuong Dinh Huehas vowed to supply a stable and affordable rice to the Philippines.
The latest price monitoring from the agriculture department showed that local commercial rice ranges from P38 to P65 per kilo.
Regular milled ranges from ₱38 to ₱49; well-milled with ₱42 to ₱52; premium with ₱45 to ₱56; and ₱44 to ₱65.
Meanwhile, imported commercial rice ranges from ₱45 to ₱65.
