The Department of Agriculture (DA) is not considering to recommend the re-imposition of price ceiling on rice products following the reported high rice inflation in the country.
Interviewed on DZRH Stories: Pinoy Documentaries on Sunday, April 7, DA Asec. Arnel De Mesa explained that re-imposing control on rice products would have "adverse effects" on the Philippine economy.
"Hindi kinokonsidera ng DA ngayon ang tinatawag na any price control kasi alam natin may mga adverse effect din ito sa ating ekonomiya. In the short term, pwede, but in the long run, medyo may mga corresponding impact ito later on," he said.
The DA official added that rice prices are still stable, hence they are not keen to propose a rice price cap.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently reported that rice inflation accelerated to 24.4 percent in March 2024 from the 23.7 percent recorded in February 2024.
The rice inflation was said the main contributor to the March 2024 inflation of 3.7 percent.
According to De Mesa, there is enough supply of rice in the country due to the continuing harvest season and rice importation.
For this year, he said the Philippines would be importing 3.6 to 3.8 million metric tons of rice, lowered than the 4.1 million metric tons estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture.
"But that depend on maraming factors pa na mangyari, of course yung presyuhan sa international market, yung productivity natin ngayong dry at saka itong parating na wet season," the DA official added.
It can be recalled that in September last year, President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. imposed price ceilings on regular and well-milled rice nationwide after retail prices of rice surged despite the stable and sufficient supply.
