Following the recent onslaught of many typhoons, the Department of Agriculture (DA) stated on Tuesday that it was monitoring a price hike of P1.50 to P2 per kilo of rice.
Over the weekend, Typhoon Falcon strengthened habagat, bringing rain to portions of Luzon. This was followed by Typhoon Egay, which created floods, devastated various towns, and cost at least P2 billion in agricultural damage.
Based on their price monitoring, DA Deputy Spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the costs of rice and vegetables have increased, particularly our imported rice.
According to Estoperez, some traders are just interested in profit and are requesting that pricing be kept reasonable.
He said that rice prices had already climbed by P1.50 to P2 per kilo during their monitoring.
Estoperez also mentioned that if the National Food Authority (NFA) had enough rice on hand, it may help stabilize prices. However, the NFA inventory is "low" since it was unable to purchase rice from farmers due to the low prices it offered, he claimed.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and several agencies will discuss the possibility of rice imports on Tuesday, according to Estoperez.
He warned the public not to buy more rice than they needed.
