Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 4) – Rice traders on Monday urged the government to defer the implementation of the rice price ceiling that will take effect tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 5, and to immediately aid retailers who will be hard hit by the postponement.
Last week, Malacañang mandated a price ceiling for regular milled rice at ₱41.00 per kilo and for well-milled rice at ₱45.00 per kilo after it saw a surge in the commodity’s retail prices.
READ: Nationwide price caps for rice set
Delaying the implementation of the cap would allow traders to sell off remaining rice stocks which they purchased at higher prices, said Jayson Cainglet, executive director of Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura.
Other requests relayed by the Department of Trade and Industry to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a Palace meeting include helping retailers access cheaper rice sources, aid in transporting the commodity from farmers to sellers, a moratorium on fees and rentals in wet markers to offset losses, and toll and fuel discounts.
Rice retailer Alfonso Flores told CNN Philippines that traders would be hard hit by the order.
“’Yung stock namin bigas, mataas pa…Halos dalawang daan kasi ang mawawala sa amin per sako,” Flores shared. “Handa naman kami tumupad sa usapang ganun na ₱41 ang maging presyuhan. Kailangan lang talaga namin, makakita kami ng mababang bigas.”
[Translation: Our rice stock is still high…We will lose almost ₱200 per sack. We’re ready to follow the ₱41 price cap. We just need to see cheaper rice sources.]
Flores said his establishment could not sell rice at the mandated prices without sustaining heavy losses, adding that it may reduce the merchandise that will be sold or even temporarily close in order to avoid fines.
Under Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, retailers that do not comply with mandated price ceilings may be fined ₱5,000 up to ₱1 million and could face jail time between one and 10 years.
Director Gerard Glenn Panganiban of the Bureau of Plant Industry said rice supply in the country was sufficient, meaning prices shouldn’t be high.
He argued that the mandated ceiling would be a mechanism to control and lower the current market prices of the commodity.
Based on the Department of Agriculture’s price monitoring from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1, local well-milled rice costs up to ₱57 per kilo, while the imported product costs up to ₱52. Local regular milled rice is sold for up to ₱55, while imported regular milled rice is sold for up to ₱43.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development also proposed a Sustainable Livelihood Program to aid small-scale retailers affected by the price ceiling.
