Starting today, the implementation of price ceilings will be in effect, as directed by the President and current Agriculture Secretary in Executive Order number 39. Regular milled rice will be priced at P41/kilo, while well milled rice will be priced at P45/kilo. This move can be seen as a bold step and a direct challenge to the powerful cartels that have controlled 45 percent of rice procurement and 85 percent of its sales and distribution for a long time. These unscrupulous traders have been able to manipulate local rice prices by purchasing farmers’ produce at low prices and imposing high marketing rates. With the Rice Tariffication Law in place, these traders have been silently importing rice and stockpiling it in their warehouses. Initially, they kept retail prices low to avoid attracting attention. Last year, they imported approximately 3.8 million MT of rice from Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand. However, they reduced their importations by 16.20 percent by March this year, claiming that Vietnam increased its prices. These traders control only 18 percent of the total import, so this reasoning doesn’t hold up. The Department of Agriculture reassures us that there is enough rice supply until the end of the year, with a surplus of 2.39 million MT expected to last 64 days into the next year. Despite this, the NFA deputy spokesperson questions why the massive imports from last year were never released to the market. There have been reports of traders stockpiling rice, overpricing their stocks, and selling them in small quantities. Just last month, the Bureau of Customs seized P519 million worth of imported rice from four warehouses. The price of local rice has increased significantly, with regular milled rice reaching P55 per kilo, well-milled rice at P56 per kilo, premium rice at P60 per kilo, and special rice at P65 per kilo. Experts believe that certain groups are taking advantage of global spikes in rice prices and the upcoming El Niño droughts. House Speaker Martin Romualdez recently had a discussion with the officials of the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM), who offered to sell rice at a lower price of P38 per kilo. The Speaker urged them to release their supply to the market at reasonable prices to avoid confiscation of their stocks and prosecution. He warned that the government is serious about cracking down on hoarders and price manipulators. The Speaker also promised to help grass-roots rice retailers financially and logistically, and hinted at amending the provisions of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to directly assist local farmers. It’s worth investigating why law enforcement agencies like the NBI, DOJ, and NFA have failed to prosecute and jail any price manipulators in the past. The penalties for such actions are already severe, but lawmakers are pushing to increase them even further with imprisonment of 20 to 40 years and fines ranging from P100,000 to P5 million. The DILG secretary has instructed Metro Manila mayors and LGUs nationwide to post copies of EO 39 in all public and private markets, while the PNP and the Bureau of Customs have been tasked to monitor rice prices and combat hoarding and illegal importation. Will this administration be able to arrest the first hoarder or price manipulator? Only time will tell.
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