THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is studying a proposal to blend imported and domestically produced rice to reduce costs paid by consumers.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel V. de Mesa said the DA plans to conduct a trial sale of blended rice in May.
The program would combine lower-priced imported rice with relatively more expensive domestic varieties to bring down the overall market price.
“The suggestion is blending. In the next harvest season, you will blend the cheap imported rice and the expensive locally produced rice so that the resulting price will go down,” Mr. De Mesa told reporters on the sidelines of the Hand-in-Hand National Investment Forum in Mandaluyong on Thursday.
The DA is considering blending ratios of 70:30 or 60:40, with imported rice making up the larger share.
It said the proposal would allow the Philippines to take advantage of currently low global rice prices.
“Right now, the price of imported rice is at a 20-year low. That’s the good news here. The price of rice in the international market is not increasing,” Mr. De Mesa said.
However, he cautioned that global prices could rise if major exporters such as Vietnam and India face production constraints.
He also pointed to elevated fertilizer costs in those countries as a potential risk factor.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that international rice prices declined 3% in March.
The drop was attributed to weaker demand from the Persian Gulf following the outbreak of fighting there, as well as the onset of the harvest in key exporting countries.
Currency depreciation in major Asian exporting countries’ US dollar was also a factor in lowering international prices, the FAO said. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel
