THE average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, fell 0.6% week-on-week in the second week of September to P16.18 per kilogram (kg), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its weekly price update, the PSA said the average wholesale price of well-milled rice fell 0.4% to P38.43 per kg. At retail, it rose 0.02% to P42.27.
The price of palay — the form in which domestic farmers sell their harvest — has been declining for months due to the presence of large volumes of imported grain in the market. Traders have been offering to buy at well below the government support price of P19 per kilo due to the soft market for palay. This has prompted the government to intervene by organizing direct purchasing by local governments, hoping to use public funds to establish a “fair” price for palay. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
