DA eyes P49/kg MSRP for imported rice

After getting bashed by all sectors  for its outrageous plan to impose a maximum suggested retail price of P58 per kg for imported rice, now the Department of Agriculture wants to adopt a lower MSRP of P49 beginning March.

But that would hinge on a favorable pricing condition in the global market  to persist by then.

During a market inspection at Cartimar Market, a private market in Pasay City, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the MSRP will be slashed to P55 per kilogram “by February 1.”

“Then, by February 15, we will lower it further to P52. By March 1, hopefully, we will break P50 per kilo, with the MSRP at P49, as long as world prices remain as they are today—a maximum landed cost of $530 to $550 per metric ton for 5 percent broken rice,” he quoted him saying Friday.

The landed cost refers to the cost of shipping a specific product.

Laurel clarified that the government has no intention of destabilizing the rice industry, despite some stakeholders calling for a more immediate and substantial reduction.

“That is the main reason why it has to be a drawdown. When we declared the MSRP at P58, a lot of people have criticized me as someone living in another planet,” he said.

“But the truth is we have a plan. You cannot just shock the market… a lot of people will go out of business, and many will resist our efforts, and that is what we are trying to avoid,” he added.

Laurel expressed hope that by announcing the planned MSRP reductions early, industry players — traders, retailers, wholesalers, and importers — will have ample time to liquidate higher-priced stocks and renegotiate contracts with suppliers.

The DA implemented the MSRP on Jan. 20 to address elevated retail prices of the staple Filipino food even if the government has already lowered the tariff rate and global prices are declining.

Last June, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 62 which slashed the import duty on imported rice to 15 percent from 35 percent until 2028 to help stabilize prices of various commodities.

The MSRP excludes Japanese black rice, red rice, basmati, imported malagkit, and locally.

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