QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to release next week the suggested retail price (SRP) for some agricultural products primarily for rice; fish such as milkfish, tilapia and galunggong; and vegetables like pechay and eggplant.
DA, meanwhile, is still planning to impose SRP on poultry products.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol stressed that the price of regular milled rice should not go beyond P40 per kilogram while well-milled rice should not exceed P42 per kilogram.
“The producers actually will not be affected by the SRP. It will be in the market where SRP will be implemented,” Secretary Piñol said.
Piñol warned that merchants who will be caught profiteering will face imprisonment or fine of up to P1 million.
Meanwhile, the price of rice is expected to drop in the coming days once the imported rice of the National Food Authority (NFA) is made available in markets.
The first batch or the 250,000 metric tons of imported rice have already arrived in the country from Vietnam and Thailand. Meanwhile, around 5 million sacks of rice are expected in July. These are also part of the government-to-government rice importation project of the NFA.
The said imported rice will be available in retail markets at P27 to P32 per kilogram.
“Ten thousand metric tons nasa Subic na (are already in Subic). Nagbababa palang sila kasi masama ang panahon (They are still unloading due to the bad weather). As of Monday 5,000 metric tons sa (in) Surigao. All the other vessels are already within the Philippine territorial waters,” Piñol reported. – Rey Pelayo / Marje Pelayo
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