The Department of Agriculture (DA) lamented the P52 price per kilo of local-milled rice in the markets for costing higher than that of imported rice.
“Napansin natin [na] yung local-milled rice natin, pumalo na ng P52 yung ating well-milled. Yun namang imported ay bumaba sa P45 from P57 nung mga nakalipas na linggo,” DA assistant secretary Arnel de Mesa told DZRH, noting the sudden reverse in prices.
“Nagbaliktad sila, yun yung tinitingnan namin ngayon na kailangan silipin bakit merong ganito when in fact for the past how many weeks and months ay mataas ang presyo ng imported at ang local naman ay P45 hanggang P47,” he added.
The DA ASEC said they were looking into the matter knowing that imported rice is costly.
“Tinitingnan namin yan kasi nga dahil alam natin na mahal ang imported na bigas dahil mahal ang kuha nila. Sa Vietnam, hindi bumababa ng 600 dollars per metric ton. Ganun din naman sa Thailand. Medyo mababa nang konti yung Thailand pero pagdating niyan dito ay medyo mataas ang presyo,” De Mesa said.
“Yan ang pinag-aaralan namin kung saan nanggagaling itong mga pagbabago ng presyo kasi yung local-milled natin kung tutuusin nga hindi siya dapat ganun magtaas,” he added.
According to De Mesa, 90 percent of the rice purchased during the wet season was priced at P23, the national average. If this were sold in markets, the local-milled rice should be P45 to P46 per kilo.
“[M]ore than 90 percent nabili nitong nakalipas na wet season nang hindi tataas sa P23 ang national average. Maraming lugar ang nabilihan ng P19, P20 hanggang P22 tapos ibebenta nila ngayon nang napakataas, P52, hindi yun ganun dapat,” the DA ASEC said.
“Ang presyo nun sa palengke pag inawas mo na yung kita ng mga magsasaka, kita ng millers sa drying at tsaka yung kita sa logistics, dapat yan mga P45 [o] P46 talaga ang presyo kapag nabili nang P22, P23,” he added.
Provinces suffer from El Niño
When asked for data regarding provinces affected by El Niño, especially Nueva Ecija which stands to lose 56,000 hectares of paddy land due to scorching heat, De Mesa said their record showed apart from the looming weather phenomenon, irrigation issues could also be a cause.
“Ang nahihirapan ay yung mga nasa tail-end ng mga irrigation area natin so yun yung focus natin ng water management intervention. Identify din simula pa lang by municipality, by province ano yung mga area na mahihirapan marating ng patubig kasi nasa dulo tsaka ang El Niño kasi nababawasan yung tubig ulan,” the DA ASEC said.
The provinces that DA projected would be affected by El Niño were from western Luzon during this last quarter of the year but could spread to provinces in eastern Luzon during the first quarter of the new year.
De Mesa said the El Niño could have an impact on over 100,000 hectares of land which translates to P400,000.
“Yung projection natin is about mga a little over 100,000 hectares yung pwedeng maapektuhan which could translate to about—kung 4 metric tons ang average natin—mga 400,000 yan na possible losses,” he said, but noting that mitigating measures could lessen this blom.
“Pero yun nga kung meron mitigating measures para hindi siya maapektuhan, you can significantly lower down yung ganitong losses,” he added.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the country has been projected to face "severe effects" of El Niño from January to March 2024.
Earlier this year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the creation of an El Niño team that would mitigate the effects of the weather phenomenon on food, water and energy security, and public health and safety.
