A DAY after the 60-day suspension on rice importation was announced, the prices of rice in the local market in Cebu City have significantly increased, a retailer reported on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025.
Erwin Gok-ong, vice president of the Grains Retailers Confederation of the Philippines Cebu City north chapter and a local rice retailer, told SunStar on Friday, Aug. 8, that the price of a 50-kilogram sack of rice has increased by P80 to P100. A sack that sold for P1,500 last week now costs P1,540 to P1,630, or about a P130 increase since last week.
Gok-ong said some retailers, especially those without stocks of imported rice, have adjusted their prices by P1 to P2 per kilo. There could be an increase of P3 to P4 per kilo of rice, with market prices of well-milled rice to premium rice expected to increase to P42-P58 per kilo from P40-P56 per kilo before the suspension’s effectivity.
He added that the prices of local rice have not yet increased as of the moment.
The 60-day suspension was ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to protect local farmers by preventing low palay prices during the current harvest season. The suspension will begin on Sept. 1.
Gok-ong called on the National Government to revamp the roles and responsibilities of the National Food Authority prior to the passing of the Rice Tariffication Law of 2019 and to intensify support for local rice farmers. He expects the government to intervene to offset the possibility of a rice price hike in the coming months.
A few weeks before the announcement, Gok-ong said he received reports that several importers were no longer granted “Authority to Import” by the Department of Agriculture (DA) since July 1. This resulted in their stocks being nearly or totally depleted, with several popular rice brands also running out of stock.
Gok-ong expects prices to continue rising, as rice importation is not scheduled to resume until September. He believes the suspension will cause prices of local rice to rise further alongside the imported rice due to the law of supply and demand.
“People will go to local sources, and when local sources have a lot of demand, the tendency is for them to raise prices as well. One of the reasons they would raise prices is to slow down orders and stretch their stock until the next harvest or importation,” said Gok-ong.
Gok-ong said there is no harvest season in the country in June, July, or August, calling the period lean months.
“We are relying on our local rice stocks that were harvested earlier and stored,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English, adding that the harvest season will start in the second week of September to the first week of October. “This might be what the National Government is counting on, so they’re not worried about prices increasing because of the harvest season,” he added.
If there is no harvest due to unforeseen events, such as devastating storms damaging rice crops, Gok-ong said this may result in a significant price increase.
He said that Cebu City’s public markets, including Carbon Public Market, rely heavily on imported rice. According to him, about 70 percent of the volume of rice sold in Carbon is imported. He said Cebu Province, not a prominent rice producer, cannot meet its demand without importing rice from the Luzon region and international countries.
Under the Rice Tariffication Law, the President is authorized to temporarily halt or limit foreign rice purchases for a limited period to stabilize domestic prices.
DA Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel said that in some areas, rice traders are buying palay at just P8 per kilo — only two-thirds of the cost incurred by the most efficient farmers to produce a kilo of palay.
DA earlier recommended increasing the rice tariff from the current 15 percent to 25 percent, and later to 35 percent, but Marcos opted to delay the decision. The rice import tariff was reduced from 35 percent to 15 percent in July last year to counter rising rice prices at the time.
Laurel said the DA will use the two-month import freeze to assess its effects on palay prices and the broader market. / EHP