The Department of Agriculture has announced two key measures to support rice farmers: a higher minimum purchase price for palay and a temporary ban on rice import arrivals in Iloilo during the upcoming harvest period. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed the plans on Thursday, saying the measures will help farmers earn better returns amid rising production costs.
Starting this September, the National Food Authority will increase its minimum buying price for wet palay from P17 to P21 per kilogram across the country. The adjustment is meant to offset higher expenses for fertilizer and other farming inputs. To avoid undercutting local harvests, no imported rice will be allowed to unload at Iloilo ports from mid-September through the end of November. As the main rice-producing area in the Visayas, Iloilo supplies nearly half of Western Visayas’ rice output and over 5 percent of the national total.
The government is also expanding processing and storage capacity to support these efforts. A new facility in Dumangas, Iloilo can process up to 4,800 fifty-kilogram bags of palay each day, with dryers that let the NFA buy freshly harvested wet grain at improved rates. Its storage space can take in as much as 12 percent of Iloilo’s expected harvest, helping keep market prices steady. Two more large processing sites in the province will open by October, while a smaller center will eventually be turned over to a local farmers’ cooperative. Nationwide, the NFA is constructing 36 modern rice processing facilities to cut post-harvest waste, raise farm incomes, and strengthen food security; half will start operations this wet season, with the rest ready before next year’s dry harvest.
Latest price data for Metro Manila as of July 16 shows local well-milled rice at P50 per kilogram and regular milled rice at P45 per kilogram. Imported well-milled rice sells for P48 per kilogram, while premium imported rice goes for P50 and special varieties reach P60. Local premium rice is priced at P55 per kilogram, with special local varieties also at P60.
