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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Gov't rice price caps face compliance challenges

Gov't rice price caps face compliance challenges

Published Oct 5, 2023 08:12 am

At A Glance

  • Majority of rice retailers failed to comply with President Marcos' rice price ceilings, according to the monitoring conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).<br>Only around 20 to 24 percent of rice retailers complied with the mandated price control measure based on market monitoring.<br>Some rice outlets reported exhausted rice stocks for both well-milled and regular-milled rice during the first phase of data collection. But more rice outlets became compliant with the rice price cap in the second phase.<br>Average price of regular-milled rice in September: P47 nationwide, P43  in NCR, and P47.60 in areas outside NCR.<br>Average price of regular-milled rice in August: P43.30 nationwide.<br>Well-milled rice price in NCR in September: P49.34 , higher than August's P47.6.<br>Well-milled rice price in areas outside NCR in September: 52.73 pesos, higher than August's 47.64 pesos.<br>Rice inflation rate in September: 17.9%, higher than August's 8.7% and the highest since March 2009.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported the prevalent non-compliance of rice retailers with the price ceilings set by President Marcos.

National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said a majority of rice retailers, approximately 76 percent to 80 percent, have failed to adhere to the mandated price caps last month.

According to the monitoring conducted by the PSA, out of the 2,601 varieties of regular-milled rice, only 640 (24.6 percent) were found to be priced at or below the set cap of P41.

Similarly, among the 3,498 well-milled rice varieties monitored, only 687 (20 percent) fell within the price cap range of P45 or less.

“The results are mixed regarding the price cap,” Mapa said. “While some outlets may have one variety of regular-milled rice priced at P41, their other varieties are priced higher.”

During the first 15 days of data collection, some rice outlets reported running out of stocks for both well-milled and regular-milled rice. However, in the following phase, more rice outlets became compliant with the rice price cap.

However, the PSA chief admitted that more research is required to determine the effectiveness of the price control measures.

“We are still looking at the data of what could have happened if there was no price cap. It needs further research on the ‘counterfactuals’ to see the impact,” Mapa said.

In September, the average price for one kilogram of regular-milled rice was P47 nationwide, with the National Capital Region (NCR) having a slightly lower average of P43, and areas outside the Metro Manila averaging P47.6.

Comparing to August, the national average price for regular-milled rice was lower at P43.30, while September saw an increase to P47.5. Similarly, for well-milled rice, the average price rose to 52.70 pesos in September from 47.63 pesos in August.

In the NCR, the price was higher last month at P49.34 compared to P47.6 in the previous month August.

Outside the NCR, there was a significant increase in the price of rice, hitting as high as P52.73 in September compared to 47.64 pesos in August.

The inflation rate for rice surged to 17.9 percent in September, marking a double-digit increase from the 8.7 percent recorded in August.

The September rate was the highest since March 2009 when it reached 22.9 percent.

Cereals and cereal products, including rice, made the largest contribution to food inflation, accounting for 48.6 percent or 4.9 percentage points.

Related Tags

food inflation Philippine Statistics Authority
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