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Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Rice prices in Mindanao reach P50 a kilo
By Nelson C. Bagaforo and Carlo P. Mallo
DAVAO CITY -- Prices of "milagrosa" or well-milled rice reached P50 per kilo on Monday in some parts of Mindanao, including cities of Davao, General Santos, Digos, Cagayan de Oro, and Butuan.
Amid assurance of ample rice supply by the National Food Authority (NFA), rice traders in Davao Region raised fears that prices of the staple in the region may go up to as high as P60 per kilo in the next few months.
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Juanito Loyola, a local rice trader, said such is expected to happen if speculation on the prime commodity continues.
Based on market estimates, he said the prices of rice are expected to reach an all-time high of over P3,000 per 50-kilo bag or P60 per kilo.
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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) meanwhile seek an investigation into the high rice prices in Mindanao, saying massive rice hoarding may be behind the "unusual and anomalous" price levels in the island.
DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral on Monday said she found it hard to believe that commercial rice prices are as high as P50 a kilo in some parts of Mindanao, while prices of similar rice brands are at P30 a kilo in Metro Manila.
But the NFA in Davao City reported that the sudden jump in the prices of rice in the city could be attributed to speculators who are apparently taking advantage of the situation.
According to local rice traders, some millers in Davao Region, especially in Compostela Valley, have suspended the milling of palay purportedly to wait for another surge in the prices of commercial rice.
Loyola said some of his suppliers have slowed down their milling or have altogether stopped operations for the meantime as the price of rice is expected to increase by another P1,000 per bag from its present price of P2,000 to P2,200 per bag.
"Rice has become a highly speculated product," Loyola said.
He added that palay could be stocked up for at least a year while milled rice can only be stored for a maximum of two months before it becomes spoiled.
The unusual increase in rice prices resulted in long queues at the local NFA rice retail outlets, prompting some retailers of the government subsidized P18.25 per kilo NFA rice to limit the sale of the staple to only one kilo per family, from previous allocation of two kilos.
According to Lorenzo Camayang, provincial manager of NFA for Davao City, the move of some retailers to limit the sale of NFA rice aims to accommodate more buyers.
As of Monday, the prices of commercial rice in the city ranged from P40 to P45 per kilo while the NFA rice is still sold at P18.25 per kilo.
The NFA has 32 accredited outlets in Davao City's public markets and another 189 Tindahan Natin outlets in the barangays.
Even as it started monitoring reported skyrocketing prices of rice in some parts of Mindanao, NFA appealed to the public not to engage in panic buying.
In a radio interview, NFA spokesman Rex Estoperez said they are now working to make sure subsidized rice sold at P18.25 per kilo and P25 per kilo are available in the areas where prices reportedly went up.
"Nagbigay ng instruction ang administrator na mag-strategize mag-introduce ng P25, midprice. Ang P18.25 available pa man din. Yan papa-implement within today (Our administrator gave an instruction to strategize and introduce P25 mid-price. The P18.25 is still available. That will be implemented within today)," Estoperez said. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (June 3, 2008 issue)
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