Palay prices decline as harvest season starts

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January 18, 2026 | 12:00am

MALOLOS, Bulacan, Philippines — Palay prices have declined by an average of at least P1 per kilo as farmers who planted early for the dry cropping season started harvesting their crops.

Palay and rice traders at the Intercity Industrial Estate and Golden City Business Park in Bocaue, two major rice trading centers in Luzon, confirmed to The STAR that prices of the staple averaged at P31 to P32.50 per kilo on Friday, and decreased to P30 yesterday.

The current palay prices are still above the National Food Authority (NFA)’s buying price of palay, which is at P23 per kilo.

Private traders noted that palay planted early for the dry cropping season are being harvested in parts of Bulacan, Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya and Pampanga.

NFA administrator Larry Lacson confirmed that palay prices imposed by private traders are higher than the agency’s procurement price.

As palay harvest for the dry season peaks, the NFA is expecting prices to settle between P21 and P23 per kilo, which is beneficial to farmers and consumers, Lacson said.

He said the NFA is not expecting the buying price of fresh palay to go down to P10 per kilo.

NFA-Bulacan manager Rhona Talens said that based on their monitoring, palay prices at the two trading centers have slightly gone down.