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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
February 28, 2025 | 12:00am
A rice vendor sells his products to customers at Paco Market in Manila on February 1, 2025.
STAR / Noel Pabalate
MANILA, Philippines — Rice prices are lower in many provinces, hence the maximum suggested retail price (SRP) of P49 per kilo of imported rice covers only Metro Manila, key cities and other urban centers, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“Areas experiencing high retail prices of the grains are the focus of the intervention,” DA spokesman Arnel de Mesa said yesterday.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday said the rice max SRP will take effect on Saturday amid efforts to reduce prices.
Aside from Metro Manila, De Mesa said the rice max SRP will be enforced in Cebu, Metro Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga and Calabarzon.
A food security emergency and rice max SRP were implemented by the DA as retail rice prices remain high despite a 20-percent tariff cut.
Pork max SRP
Meanwhile, Tiu Laurel will meet with stakeholders on March 6 to finalize a pork max SRP amid high pork prices.
“There is no final (figure on the max SRP), but I have figures in mind,” Tiu Laurel told The STAR yesterday.
A pork max SRP could be implemented on March 10, Tiu Laurel said.
P400/kilo galunggong
Meanwhile, retail prices of round scad or galunggong have reached as high as P400 per kilo compared to last month’s P350 per kilo, the DA said.
Once dubbed the “poor man’s fish,” galunggong prices remain high despite the three-month closed fishing season ending on Feb. 16.
Commercial fishing vessels have resumed operating in the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Visayan Sea after the fishing ban.
The resumption of their operations is expected to bring down the retail prices of fish, particularly galunggong and sardines, De Mesa has said.
