MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Friday, January 3, that it will soon unveil its plan to remove labels from imported rice following consultations with industry stakeholders.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa mentioned in an interview that the DA held its first meeting on Thursday, January 2, to discuss measures to prevent price manipulation in rice.
The department is also conducting ongoing consultations with various rice industry groups and associations.
“In the coming days, our department will make an announcement regarding the removal of the ‘premium’ and ‘special’ labels,” he told PTV News in Filipino.
The DA already announced plans on Dec. 26, 2024, to eliminate both brand names and grade labels on imported rice.
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. said these labels are often used by some retailers and traders to “intentionally confuse Filipino consumers” and “justify inflated prices.”
However, he clarified that the rule will not apply to locally produced rice, citing the need to “protect Filipino farmers and traders.”
De Mesa also explained that the DA, along with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), have seen some retailers set the price of rice to as much as P60 per kilogram in markets because it was labeled as “premium” or “special.”
However, the rice should have been priced at P50 per kilogram, he added.
“When Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel last visited the Guadalupe Market with Secretary Roque from the DTI, one thing we noticed was that some types of rice, which should have been priced at the P50 level, were found to be priced at P60 simply because of the ‘premium’ and ‘special’ labels,” De Mesa said in Filipino.
The DA’s consultations with retailers, traders, and importers revealed that a markup of P6 to P8 per kilogram is sufficient to cover the production and operational costs of imported rice.
While the government hopes that removing labels will curb price manipulation on imported rice, Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo told Philstar.com that the move will not be effective and that it undermines consumers’ right to know the quality of the rice and whether they are buying local or imported varieties.
She added that overpricing and hoarding of rice and other agricultural commodities have long been issues, with little to no accountability enforced.
Latest rice prices. Based on the DA’s latest price monitoring as of January 2, local well-milled rice in Metro Manila markets is priced between P42 and P52 per kilogram, while imported well-milled rice ranges from P50 to P54 per kilogram.
For premium commercial rice, locally-produced varieties are priced between P46 and P58 per kilogram, whereas imported brands range from P52 to P60 per kilogram.
The highest grade, special commercial rice, can cost up to P63 for local varieties and around P65 for imported options.
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