The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to lower the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of imported rice this July, in line with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to continuously find ways to ease the burden on Filipino consumers.
“We plan to reduce the MSRP of imported rice to P43 per kilo starting 1 July, from the current P45, in response to the recent decline in global rice prices,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. announced.
The DA first implemented the MSRP in January to reflect President Marcos’ decision to reduce rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent beginning in July. This move coincided with a drop in world rice prices following India’s lifting of its export ban on non-basmati rice and waning in demand after last year’s El Niño episode.
The initial MSRP for 5 percent broken imported rice was set at P58 per kilo on 28 January and was gradually lowered to P45 by 31 March. This food security initiative has helped tame inflation, allowing the central bank to reduce interest rates to drive economic activity and create jobs.
Secretary Tiu Laurel also expects corresponding adjustments in the prices of rice sold under the DA’s Rice-for-All program. Currently, 5 percent broken rice is priced at P43 per kilo, 25 percent broken at P35, and 100 percent broken at P33.
These initiatives are aligned with the administration’s “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” campaign, which fulfills President Marcos’ promise to provide rice at P20 per kilo. The pilot of the P20 rice program, which runs through December, aims to benefit up to 14 million low-income and at-risk Filipinos as well as minimum wage earners.
President Marcos has directed the DA to sustain the P20-per-kilo rice program through the end of his term in June 2028. Addressing questions about the program’s viability, Secretary Tiu Laurel assured the public of its sound foundation: “I wouldn’t have pursued this program—especially not the President—if it hadn’t been thoroughly studied. He spent three years examining it before we began implementing it last month.”
Meanwhile, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has instructed the House of Representatives’ policy and budget experts to conduct an in-depth review on the feasibility of adopting the P20-per-kilo rice program as a national policy.
He affirmed the House’s readiness to draft legislation to institutionalize the program, calling it a crucial step toward long-term food security and economic relief for millions of households.
