Consumers and small businesses struggle with soaring rice prices

Photo by Carlo Manalansan/Bulatlat

By DANIELA MAURICIO
Bulatlat.com

BULACAN – Consumers and small business owners continue to bear the brunt of soaring rice prices, even after the Department of Agriculture (DA) set a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of P58 ($1) per kilo for imported rice.

Starting January 20, a maximum retail price of P58 per kilo will be imposed on premium imported rice with no more than five percent broken grains. Initially, this price cap will apply in Metro Manila and will be reviewed monthly. The profit margin for importers, traders, and retailers will be limited to P10 per kilo. If prices continue to remain high, the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will advise Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to enforce a stricter price ceiling.

For Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), this is just a band-aid solution. According to the group, this does not address the root cause of the continued rise in rice and food prices—the lack of support for local farmers, neoliberal agricultural policies, and the importation of cheap rice that undermines local production, as well as the absence of genuine rural industrialization.
Rising inflation

Although the MSRP aims to regulate the price of imported rice, the KMP said it remains burdensome for ordinary Filipinos, especially with the rising inflation and for those who have low wages.

Consumer Rebecca Pangantihon, who owns a mini store, for one agreed that the P58 per rice is still high.

“The prices of goods today are really high, especially tomatoes. The price of chili is also shocking, reaching up to P750 ($12.78) per kilo. Tomatoes, on the other hand, went up to P290 ($5) but have now dropped to P220 ($4). Hopefully, prices will go back to what they used to be, right? Before, the highest price was only P60. Why did it reach this point? It really breaks the wallet,” Pangantihon told Bulatlat in Filipino..

Pangantihon also pointed out that while people head to the Kadiwa market near their area to buy rice, other basic commodities are also becoming increasingly expensive. She urged the government to step in and address the issue by controlling these price hikes.

Due to the high cost of food products Diane, a senior citizen, buys her produce at Kadiwa Market which sells rice and food products at low cost.

“We used to buy rice for 60 pesos, but we were struggling, so we decided to buy it at Kadiwa instead. The only ones allowed there are seniors, persons with disabilities, and members of the 4Ps,” Diane told Bulatlat.

She added, “But sometimes others ask me for help. For instance, when I’m not buying, I lend them my ID so they can buy because not everyone always has money to buy rice, it’s just too expensive.”

Melrose Magdasoc, a carinderia owner, expressed similar frustrations. She said that her grocery budget is no longer sufficient due to skyrocketing prices.

“Before, I could shop for groceries with a P6,000 ($102) budget. Now, I can only get about half of what I used to buy with that budget. There are so many things I can’t afford anymore because they’re too expensive,” Pangantihon said. “I hope the government takes action because people are really struggling now.”

In September 2023, Marcos implemented a price ceiling through Executive Order No. 39, setting the price of regular milled rice at P41 per kilo and well-milled rice at P45 per kilo. But according to KMP, the price of rice still increased up to P50 per kilo. At the same time, the price of chili also skyrocketed, with the Department of Agriculture’s price monitoring reporting retail prices ranging from P550 ($9) to P800 ($14) per kilo for siling labuyo. These price increases came shortly after the inflation rate surged to 5.3% in 2023, primarily driven by the rapid rise in food prices.

Impact on small businesses

The high cost of rice and other necessities is also putting a strain on small businesses, particularly in the food industry. Many are forced to either absorb the losses or increase their prices, risking losing loyal customers in the process.

“Because of the high price of rice, we are forced to increase the prices of our products as well. Otherwise, the business will suffer losses,” said Kurt Torres, a carinderia owner.

He added that while raising prices is necessary to keep up with rising costs, he worries about potentially losing customers.

Magdasoc also said, “Of course, when the price of rice goes up, we also have to raise the price of our products.”

“I hope the price of rice drops, so our product prices can decrease as well, and we’ll be able to attract more customers. They said P20 per kilo. Where is that now?” she added.

‘Just a facade’

For KMP, the MSRP is just a facade.

The group said the DA has no strong mechanism to ensure that traders and rice retailers will comply. Meanwhile, they said, farmers continue to suffer losses due to low income from their harvest.

With this policy, both farmers and consumers are suffering, while rice cartels and large importers are the ones benefiting,” said Danilo Ramos, chairperson of KMP and senatorial candidate from Makabayan.

“Instead of implementing various trial-and-error measures that still favor large rice traders, the DA should focus on improving local rice production—along with reducing production costs, providing subsidies, and raising the farmgate price for farmers,” Ramos added.

Meanwhile, Cathy Estavillo, spokesperson for Bantay Bigas and secretary general of Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women said the MSRP also promotes imported over local products. This, she said, will only benefit producers and private traders.

She added that this will also destroy the livelihoods of farmers due to the overwhelming influx of imported rice.

“It’s clear that this is just empty propaganda because the government has no real power to dictate market prices under the Rice Liberalization Law,” Estavillo, also the second nominee of Gabriela Women’s Party, said.

“The government is truly useless because instead of providing immediate and concrete solutions for the 63% self-rated poor, it shamelessly promotes the outrageously high price of imported rice, like P58 per kilo,” Estavillo said.

She urged the public to unite in condemning the government’s rice policies which she described as anti-consumer and anti-farmer – from Bigas29, Rice-for-All, Sulit and Nutri Rice, to the removal of labels on imported rice, and now, the setting of a maximum SRP.

“This Sulit Rice is 100% broken rice and they are forcing this to the public,” Estavillo said.

She asserts that the government only continues to embrace neoliberal policies such as the Rice Liberalization Law and Executive Order No. 62, which reduces the tariff on rice from 35 percent to 15 percent, as dictated by the World Trade Organization and betrays the public interest and national sovereignty of the Filipino people. 

“In 2024, rice imports reached 4.68 million metric tons, but Marcos never had a plan for the development of local production,” Estavillo said. (ADU, RTS, RVO)