90% of Metro Manila rice retailers comply with price cap – agency

Officials of the Bureau of Plant Industry along with the National Food Authority conduct sampling on the sacks of imported rice from Thailand inside MV Emperor 1 docked at the Tabaco City port.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MICHAEL B. JAUCIAN / INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) on Wednesday said that 90 percent of rice retailers in Metro Manila, or National Capital Region (NCR), comply with the Malacañang-imposed price cap on rice.

According to BPI Director Glenn Panganiban, his agency is part of the team monitoring the rice price cap imposition, which aimed to stabilize the price of rice in the country.

“We are part of the team na nagmo-monitor ng mga prices sa ating mga palengke; at dito sa atin sa NCR, we are proud to say na 90 percent or more ay nakakasunod sa ating price cap na itinalaga,” said Panganiban during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing.

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(We are part of the team that monitors the prices in our wet markets, and here in NCR, we  are proud to say that 90 percent or more are following the price cap that we have designated.)

While Panganiban said prices are beginning to stabilize, he cannot say when the rice price cap will be fully lifted.

Panganiban also said that the Philippines is becoming more self-sufficient when it comes to rice production, despite rice imports ramping up under the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“Well, tayo, ang ating sufficiency ay tumataas through the years. Nasa 80 to 90 percent ang ating sufficiency ng local production and we complement that with our imports ano. So, I think iyong tinatanong mo about enough ba ang suplay, yes, we have enough,” he said.

(Well, our sufficiency has been increasing through the years. Our local production’s sufficiency is around 80 to 90 percent, and we complement that with our imports. So if you ask if the supply is enough, yes, we have enough.)

JPV/abc