The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Rose de la Cruz Even as the Department of Agriculture is still studying setting a floor price for palay (unmilled rice), a farm group —  Bantay Bigas —  is proposing that it set the minimum farmgate price of P21 per kilogram, to ensure a better return for the farmers. Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo said the floor price would …

The sweet mangoes of the Philippines made its debut shipment to Italy recently with the first batch of 500 kilograms arriving at Rome’s  Fiumicino Airport. This historic shipment was made possible through the collaboration between Filipino entrepreneurs, the Philippine Embassy in Rome and the Department of Agriculture. Sourced from the premier mango region of Pangasinan, the shipment underwent and passed …

As the push to modernize agriculture through mechanization from land preparation, transplanting and harvesting, rural jobs are getting scarcer even in the face of labor shortages. At the recent Lakbay-Agham: Catching up with Scientists in Nueva Ecija,” an annual event of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, scientists have cautioned against pursuing mechanization without regard for regional labor conditions that if …

Suzuki Philippines punctuated its 50th year celebration in the country with a big bang with the holding of the 2-day Suzuki Matsuri 2025 last weekend at the SM Mall of Asia. Earlier, top officials of the Suzuki head office in Japan joined the One Suzuki Dealer Convention last Friday for the local Suzuki dealers now at 70 at the nearby …

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a growing number of resolved complaints involving online financial transactions, with a steadily improving success rate in mediation. During a briefing held at the BSP office, Charina de Vera-Yap, Managing Director of the Financial Inclusion and Consumer Empowerment Sub-Sector, shared that 322 mediation cases were handled in 2023, with a 69% success rate …

To bolster healthcare access in far-flung and underserved communities, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) on June 10 turned over Patient Transport Vehicles (PTVs) worth P16.20 million to eight local government units (LGUs) in Luzon. The recipient municipalities include Rosario and Cuenca in Batangas; San Mateo in Isabela; Pola in Oriental Mindoro; and Dumaran, Brooke’s Point, Magsaysay, and Coron …

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued a final reminder that today, June 16, 2025, is the last day for taxpayers to avail of the estate tax amnesty. In a tax advisory released last week, the BIR reiterated that all estate tax amnesty applications must be filed, approved, and paid by the end of the day. “This is to …

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have joined forces to help accelerate the Philippines’ clean energy transition through a three-year technical cooperation project focused on hydropower development. In a statement released last week, the DOE announced that outgoing Secretary Raphael Lotilla and JICA Chief Representative Baba Takashi formalized the partnership by signing the Records …

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has partnered with LIMA Infrastructure Inc. to enhance investor services and fast-track ecozone development, formalizing the collaboration through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed recently. PEZA Director General Tereso Panga and Aboitiz InfraCapital Economic Estates President Rafael Fernandez de Mesa led the signing, marking LIMA’s designation as the latest Investment Promotion Partner (IPP). LIMA …

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. welcomed the European Commission’s (EC) recent decision to delist the Philippines from its high-risk countries list for financial crime. “That’s certainly good news. But the EU (European Union) Parliament will still need to confirm the EC decision,” Remolona said last week. The EC announced on June 10 that it had removed …