Gov’t to delay lower imported premium rice price ceiling

Metro Manila, Philippines - The government will delay the implementation of the lower maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on imported premium rice in light of the Israel-Iran conflict impact on the global market.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the planned cut on the MSRP — which is determined based on producer cost — on imported rice may be postponed for one or two months to avoid market shocks and give time to assess the situation.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is supposed to reduce the MSRP from P45 per kilogram to P43 per kilogram by July 1.

Tiu Laurel also said the frozen pork MSRP is still a go in August, but the value has yet to be determined due to global volatility.

“Baka tumaas ‘yong freight ng few hundred dollars per ton sa international freight, that will affect the imported pork prices din,” he told reporters.

[Translation: International freight costs may go up by a few hundred dollars; that will also affect imported pork prices.]

Meanwhile, a group of supermarket operators said groceries items may cost more if big-time fuel price hikes continue in the next few weeks.

The Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association said manufacturers, distributors, and supermarkets would have to be careful in price adjustments of products.

Some products such as loaf bread, cigarettes, and bottled water may have price movements in particular outlets if they don’t stock up too much, the group’s president Steven Cua told NewsWatch Plus.

“If tuloy-tuloy ang pag-akyat [If there will be continuous increases” in the next few weeks or even months because of the escalation of crisis in the Middle East, then maaaring siguro [it’s possible] suppliers will have to adjust their prices and we will have to adjust our prices,” he said.

Oil companies have implemented fuel price adjustments on a staggered basis this week.