Palay prices saw a sharp decline in January as global rice prices continued to ease, driven by increased supply and an expected boost in harvests this year due to improved weather conditions.
Data collected by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in the last five days of January showed that the average farm gate price of palay in the Philippines at P20.69 per kilo, a 17 percent drop from P24.92 per kilo in the same month last year. The January price, however, was nearly unchanged from the P20.70 per kilo recorded in December.
Last year, global rice prices surged due to a combination of poor harvests and rising demand. The El Niño weather phenomenon caused prolonged dry spells in the first half of 2024, while India’s decision to ban exports of non-basmati rice in August 2023. India lifted the export ban in September.
Global prices have dropped sharply, with prices in Vietnam—the Philippines main source of imported rice—falling below USD400 per metric ton in February, their lowest in more than two years.
The National Food Authority (NFA) has pledged to buy clean and dry palay at prices between P21 and P23 per kilo. However, the NFA’s limited procurement volume has not been enough to significantly influence market prices. Palay costs account for roughly half of the price of rice sold in markets.
PSA data for January showed that Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) had the highest average palay price at P24.79 per kilo, despite a 28 percent drop from January 2024. Southern Leyte led the region with an average price of P26.58 per kilo.
In contrast, Region IV-A (Calabarzon) recorded the lowest average price at P17.41 per kilo, down 26 percent. Laguna had the lowest individual price at P15.65 per kilo, a 34 percent decrease, while Cavite recorded the highest price in the region at P19.79, a 17 percent decline.
In Central Luzon (Region III), a key rice-producing area, the average price of palay was P21.13 per kilo, down 24 percent, with Nueva Ecija—the country’s top rice producer—seeing a 26 percent drop to P21.05 per kilo.
