• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
While the price of rice is on an upward trend, due to rising costs, farmgate price of palay also hiked in Negros Occidental, according to Pedro Limpangog, president of the Federation of Irrigators’ Associations Central Negros – Bago River Irrigation System (FIACN-BRIS) Incorporated
Limpangog noted on Tuesday that palay is now sold at P25 per kilogram, from P17 to P20 per kilo in December last year, while other rice types have reached up to P34 per kilogram.
Despite the improved prices for their crops, he said farmers are still facing financial strain, noting rising fuel costs have pushed up the price of fertilizers, transportation, and equipment operation, eating into potential gains.
While it is a welcome relief for them, Limpangog noted also that high-grade rice is now fetching between P2,300 and P2,400 pesos per 50-kg sack.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. earlier said that the department is studying a price cap of P50 per kg on imported rice, possibly by April, to help keep the staple grain affordable for consumers, in the face of the oil shock and rising food costs, in order not to affect the farmgate price of palay.
While the DA earlier announced a subsidy program to support farmers, Limpangog said they have yet to receive it.
Raul Montemayor of the Federation of Free Farmers said the price increase of retail rice may have been due to speculation by market players on increased transport costs and reduction in future palay harvests if fertilizer prices rise.
The DA secretary assured Filipinos that the country has an adequate rice buffer.*
