Quezon City – Farmer leaders and rice industry stakeholders yesterday asked for help from President Rody Duterte by ordering a review of the loopholes in the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), passed barely four months ago, as farm gate prices of paddy rice dropped to a record low of P12 to P14 per kilo in many parts of the country.
The prevailing farm gate prices showed a steep drop from an average of P20 per kilo of fresh palay earlier this year which would result in an estimated P114-B in losses to Filipino rice farmers for the whole year.
In contrast, the market prices of rice, expected to drop by P7 per kilo with the RTL, have remained almost constant with some areas reporting a drop of only P1 to P2 per kilo, even with the deluge of imported rice, the rice industry stakeholders said.
During a dialogue with rice industry stakeholders at the Central Office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday, rice farmers said that the unrestricted inflow of imported rice pushed down the farm gate price of local paddy rice to a record low in decades.
“Sadsad ang presyo ng palay pero ang presyo ng bigas sa merkado ganoon pa rin,” said Aldrin Cardenas, a former Overseas Filipino Worker who now heads a farmers’ cooperative in Tarlac.
“The rice farmers will lose over P100-B this year but the government will only deliver P10-B worth of interventions,” said farmer leader Pedro Lim of Caraga Region.
“The drop in the price of rice in the market of P1 to P2 per kilo does not even come close to the financial sacrifices of the rice farmers,” he said.
During the consultation yesterday called by the DA amidst a nationwide uproar by rice farmers of very low farm gate prices, the industry stakeholders also decried the massive profits enjoyed by rice importers and traders.
They cited Bureau of Customs shipment entry records which show that the landed cost of Myanmar 25% broken rice is only P18.22 per kilo; Vietnam 5% broken P25.33 per kilo and Thailand 5% Broken P23.06 per kilo.
Premium or 5% Broken Rice Imported from Vietnam and Thailand is sold from P50 to P60 per kilo for a whooping margin of P25 to P35 per kilo.
A validation of the market prices conducted by the DA Regional Offices Monday showed photos of rice stalls with prices ranging from a low of P32 per kilo to a high of P70 with the average selling price at P42 per kilo.
The only area which posted huge drop in the market price of rice was in Region 2, considered as the rice granary of the Philippines where prices were as low as P30 per kilo but farm gate prices also dropped to about P12 per kilo.
The DA Secretary will meet today with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez and NEDA Undersecretary Mercedita Sombillo to discuss the implementation of the Suggested Retail Price policy on commercial rice sold in the market based on the Price Act.
With the National Food Authority (NFA) stripped of its supervisory and regulatory powers over the rice industry, the Price Act is the only remaining instrument of government to rationalise the pricing of agricultural products in the market.
The DA Secretary also assured the rice industry stakeholders that their concerns will be submitted in a formal memorandum to President Rody Duterte.
(Photos showing the prices of rice in the market were taken Monday by the different Regional Offices of the DA while photos of the consultation with rice industry stakeholders were taken yesterday by Alan Jay Jacalan, DA AFID.)
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