‘Market forces’ hike price of rice by P2 per kilo

MANILA, Philippines–Rice millers in Nueva Ecija province, the country’s top rice producer, said the public should brace itself for the continued increase in the prices of rice, especially during the lean months.

“We bought the dried palay at P25 a kg and paid P20 to P21 for the fresh harvest. At that purchase price, we cannot be expected to sell it at lower than P38 a kg of the milled rice,” said Edgardo Alfonso, president of the 26-member San Jose City Rice Millers Association.

He said from wholesalers, to whom rice millers deliver their supply, the shipment still had to go to retailers. Retailers would increase the prices so they could earn, he added.

Reports said the current market price of rice was P2 higher than the price three months ago.

Alfonso said the government could control only the prices of rice that the National Food Authority had imported. The DA in April said the country missed its 100-percent target of rice self-sufficiency for 2013.–Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon