DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 25 Aug)—The prices of rice in the local market have gradually increased as supply becomes tight, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Davao said.
Agnes Cecilia S. Roble, senior agriculturist at DA-Davao, told “Kapihan sa Philippine Information Agency” on Friday that the increase in local prices were observed starting early this month as the rice production in the county enters the “lean season.”
She said that based on their monitoring, rice prices increased from P45 per kilo last Aug. 7 to P48 last Aug. 16, to P55 or P56 per kilo as of Aug. 24.
Roble assured the public that the agency is doing its best to look for solutions to increase the supply of rice in the country.
But she clarified that there is “no shortage” of rice as the buffer remains sufficient to meet the domestic demand at least for the next two months.
The country has 1.9 million metric tons of buffer stock, Roble said.
Rice prices are expected to stabilize beginning next month in time for the start of the harvest season, adding that there are a total of 475,000 hectares planted to rice in the region.
She said Region XI has a 54% rice sufficiency level, which means it needs to rely on other sources such as those coming from other regions and even imported rice to fill the supply gap to feed a population of 3.75 million in Davao.
“Based on the supply and demand, if supply is not enough, naturally the prices will go up a bit,” Roble said.
She said the annual per capita consumption of rice is estimated at 133 kilograms.
The region’s Local Rice Coordinating Council, Roble said, continues its monitoring to ensure that no one is “hoarding rice” in the warehouses that could allow distributors to manipulate prices.
The council is composed of representatives from the DA, Department of Trade and Industry, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, National Bureau of Investigation, police, Department of Health, and Food and Drugs Administration.
“Let’s help each other out by not wasting rice. As much as possible, let’s consume what we buy. The prices could be higher now but it will eventually go down,” Roble said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
