THE average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, fell 0.47% week-on-week to P18.87 per kilogram in the fourth week of March, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), continuing to decline as the Rice Tariffication Law moved forward to full implementation.

The law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were signed last week, operationalizing the law which leaves rice importation to the private sector, a practice which promises to significantly bring down retail prices for the staple in the wake of the political outcry from last year’s inflation crisis.

The average wholesale price of well-milled rice fell 0.12% from a week earlier to P40.61 per kg. The average retail price fell 0.25% to P44.22.

The average wholesale price of regular-milled rice fell 0.83% week-on-week to P36.87 per kg. The average retail price fell 0.69% to P40.02.

Prices for both yellow and white corn grain, used in both animal feed and food products, rose during the fourth week of March.

The average farmgate price of yellow corn grain rose 0.29% week-on-week to P13.87 per kg.

The average wholesale price for yellow corn grain rose 0.59% week-on-week to P18.61 per kg. The average retail price rose 0.33% to P24.08.

The average farmgate price of white corn grain rose 1.06% week-on-week to P15.29 per kg. The average wholesale price rose 2.26% to P22.66, while the average retail price rose 1.39% to P29.12. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

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