A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture (DA) denied that importing rice abroad was the reason for the drop in the price of palay harvested by local farmers.
In an interview with GMA News “Unang Balita” on Wednesday, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes said that the rice’s wetness is the reason why traders buy it at a low price.
“Ang presyo ng palay ay nade-determine ng supply and demand. Mababa ‘yun dahil basa. Kapag nakikita mo ‘yun kapag basa, hindi po nabibili masyado na mataas sa presyo,” he explained.
(The price of rice is determined by supply and demand. It’s low because it’s wet. When you see it when it is wet, it does not sell very high at a price.)
“So P19 (per kilo) po kapag tuyong-tuyo. Siyempre po may P12, P13, P14 pero mataas din po ‘yung iba na P16, P17 ‘yung tuyo,” Reyes added.
(So P19 (per kilo) when dry. Of course, there are P12, P13, P14 but the others are also high at P16, P17 for dry palay.)
Last month, Senator Ralph Recto asked the DA to determine the farmers’ sentiment in lowering the price of freshly harvested rice to P12 per kilo.
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Rice importation did not cause drop in palay prices – DA
Recto stressed that the DA should find out if the importation of rice has affected the price of rice by local farmers.
On October 6, the DA said rice should not be imported abroad during the Philippine rice harvest season to help farmers.
“Pinigilan po natin ‘yan at nakiusap po si Secretary (William Dar) na huwag munang magparating lalong-lalo na sa harvest. ‘Yan din ang utos ng Senate committee on agriculture and food ni Senator (Cynthia) Villar,” Reyes said.
(We prevented that, and Secretary (William Dar) begged not to import during harvest. That is also the order of the Senate committee on agriculture and food of Senator Cynthia Villar.)
“Although, tuloy-tuloy ang pag-issue ng permit ay huwag po sila magpasok ng imported rice tuwing anihan,” he added.
(Although the permit’s issuance is continuous, they should not import imported rice during harvest.)