THE AVERAGE farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, rose 0.3% to P15.94 per kilogram (kg) in the last week of January, a price level that remains 19.2% lower year-on-year, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

According to its weekly update on palay, rice and corn prices, the average price of wholesale well-milled rice (WMR) declined 0.9% week-on-week to P37.01, while retail prices dropped 0.2% to P41.30 . WMR prices were down 8.2% year-on-year.

The average wholesale price of regular-milled rice fell 0.03% week-on-week to P32.96 while the average retail price rose to P36.44.

Domestic rice prices have been declining since the implementation of the Rice Tarrification Law which removed restrictions on imports of cheap foreign rice, with Southeast Asian grain charged a 35% tariff.

The average farmgate price of yellow corn grain rose 0.8% week-on-week to P12.52 per kg. The average farmgate price of white corn grain fell 0.1% to P13.35.

The average wholesale and retail price of yellow corn grain both rose one percent to P22.11 per kg and P25.30 per kg, respectively.

The average wholesale price of white corn grain fell 0.7% week-on-week to P16.63. The average retail price rose 2.2% to P26.92. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave