Palay farmgate prices rise as lean season begins

THE average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, continued to rise year-on-year two weeks into the start of the lean season, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
In its palay, rice and corn price report, the PSA said the average farmgate price of palay was P21.60 per kilogram (kg) in the second week of July, up 11.17% from a year earlier. The average was 0.47% lower compared with the previous week.
The price of palay breached the P21 level after almost two years in early May, despite projections of rice production increasing this year and in 2019.
The average price for well-milled rice rose week-on-week and year-on-year.
The average wholesale price for well-milled rice was P42.09 per kg, up 0.38% week-on-week and 7.81% year-on-year. At retail, prices rose 0.27% week-on-week and 7.05% year-on-year to P44.81 per kg. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato