WITH the recent increase in the prices of rice in the country, the Mandaue City Government will discuss ways to mitigate retail prices in the city, according to Mayor Jonas Cortes.
Cortes told reporters on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, that he will hold a meeting with City Councilor Oscar del Castillo, who chairs the committee on market and abattoir operations, along with the price monitoring committee, to address the matter as soon as possible.
As of Saturday, Aug. 19, the prices of well-known rice brands at the Mandaue City Public Market had gone up by as much as P10 per kilo since the previous week.
Doña Conchita was priced at P54, up from P50; Jasmine, P53, up from P43; Ganador, P56, up from P50; red rice, P55, up from P53; Ivory, P52, up from P48-P50; and Palawan, P50, up from P41.
Cortes said their goal is to provide consumers with reasonable prices, as a rise in rice prices is inevitable.
The City Government, he said, wants to ensure that suppliers and vendors do not exploit the situation by overpricing their goods.
“While we all understand that inflation is still happening, we should not let all the people and buyers carry all the sacrifices and burden. Rice merchants also consume rice with their families. So, it all comes back to us. My aim is a win-win solution,” said Cortes in a mix of Cebuano and English.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier said the government is closely monitoring rice supplies as the price per kilo surged to about P56.
Marcos, who is also the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, mentioned that the high price of rice in the market could be attributed to expensive farm gate costs and importation.
In a statement released by the Palace on Friday, the President said the price of rice would only stabilize if the Philippines increased its supply and reserves of the Filipinos’ staple food.
