Aquino downplays price hike, says not everyone buys well-milled rice

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III has downplayed the increase in rice prices, saying only a minority of Filipinos buying well-milled rice are affected.

“It is the well-milled that has had this very significant spike. So pagka sinasabi natin ‘yung, ‘di ba, sino ba ang naaapektuhan?—And I guess it is not the vast majority that is getting affected dahil nga hindi lahat nagko-consume, ang explanation sa akin, ‘nung well-milled,” Aquino said during his state visit to Japan on Tuesday.

(It is the well-milled rice that has had this very significant spike. So who will be affected? I guess it is not the vast majority that is getting affected because, as explained to me, not everyone consumes well-milled rice.)

In a transcript made available to Palace reporters, Aquino said he was told that the movement in the prices of low-end rice was not that significant.

“NFA (National Food Authority) has also doubled its normal supply to ensure that there is adequate supply that will prevent any undue upward movement of prices,” he added.

Aquino said the government already imported 800,000 metric tons, 12,000 of which has already been delivered, to augment the local supply.

“I asked the DOST (Department of Science and Technology)— a month, two months ago, some time back—if we can use satellite imagery to actually determine arable lands that are planted to rice,” he said so the government would have an accurate picture of the country’s rice situation.

He said they will hold another meeting to check and determine what had been causing the price hikes on basic commodities.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. earlier enumerated the problems being faced by the agricultural sector, resulting in the increase of prices. However, he said they have yet to find out why the price of garlic spiked.

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