MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) will set the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on regular and well-milled imported rice at P58 per kilo starting January 20 in Metro Manila.

“Sa ngayon, i-set natin ang MSRP by January 20 at P58,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Friday, January 10. (Right now, we will set the MSRP by January 20 at P58.)

“With the way things are going and current market prices, after one month, it should be…P56 or P55.”

The MSRP will be implemented this January in Metro Manila first. According to Laurel, the government is still reviewing major markets in other areas including Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao.

Prices of imported rice — regular, well-milled, premium, and special — currently range from P38 to P64 per kilo.

Laurel said the MSRP will be mandatory, including for supermarkets and convenience stores. Trade Secretary Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque had expressed Department of Trade and Industry’s support for the implementation of the MSRP.

“Ang gagawin namin is to monitor and to enforce that the prices set are being followed,” Roque said on Friday.

(What we’ll do it to monitor and to enforce that the prices set are being followed.)

Sanctions for stores which will not follow the MSRP are yet to be discussed. The MSRP, as Laurel clarified previously, does not work like a price cap which only the President can order upon recommendation of the concerned agency. Violation of a price cap is deemed a violation of the law.

Under the Price Act, the President can impose a price cap when there’s a calamity, acts of illegal price manipulation, or artificial increase in prices.

In addition to the MSRP, DA ordered a change in the packaging of imported rice. It should tell consumers the brand, country or provincial origin, type, percentage of broken rice, importer or miller.

In 2024, the Philippines imported a record high of 4.68 million metric tons of rice. The DA recently said this is due to lower local production and reduced tariffs.

“Kung wala na tayong makitang P60 [per kilo] after January 20 sa merkado, eh malaking achievement na ‘yun,” Tiu Laurel added.

(If we don’t see P60 per kilo of rice in the market after January 20, that’s already a big achievement.)  – Rappler.com