Farmgate prices of dry palay rose nearly 30 percent year-on-year in August, extending the gains seen earlier in 2026 and providing stronger returns for rice farmers despite a slight monthly decline.
Philippine Statistics Authority data showed the national average farmgate price climbed to P22.16 per kilo in August from P17.06 a year earlier, a 30 percent increase. The August figure, however, was 1 percent lower than July’s P22.39.
The price gains were broad-based, with most regions recording double-digit year-on-year increases.
The sharpest annual increase was posted in CALABARZON, where the average farmgate price surged 50 percent to P19.02 per kilo from P12.68 a year earlier.
Ilocos followed with a 54 percent increase to P23.57, while Cagayan Valley recorded a 41 percent gain to P20.62.
Central Luzon, the country’s major rice-producing region, posted a 32 percent annual increase to P20.86 per kilo.
Central Visayas recorded the highest August price among the regions at P28.07 per kilo, up 41.1 percent from P19.89 a year earlier. Northern Mindanao followed at P23.35, although this represented a 6.8 percent decline from July.
Several regions also posted month-on-month declines, including SOCCSKSARGEN, where prices fell 8.8 percent from July, Bicol and Northern Mindanao, which both declined 6.3 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.
The August data come as the government seeks to balance lower retail rice prices with adequate returns for farmers. Stronger farmgate prices can improve producer incomes but could also affect the cost structure of rice traders and millers.
The figures underscore the continuing gap between farmgate and consumer prices and the challenge of ensuring that lower rice prices for consumers do not come at the expense of farmer profitability.
