Rice retailers in Manila and Malabon closed their stores on the first day of the implementation of the mandated rice price ceiling order on Tuesday, Sept. 5, and warned that permanent closure may happen if they are not supplied with low-priced rice.
Rice retailers in Trabajo market closed their shops on Tuesday, as they waited for suppliers to sell them rice at a lower price.
Other retailers opened their stalls only in the afternoon the moment when they received their rice supplies.
A 48-year-old rice retailer in Trabajo market said that he was only forced to open his store on the first day of the rice price cap.
"Balik-puhunan na lang talaga ang benta namin d'yan sa P45 na bigas. D'yan sa tig-41 na bigas eh abono pa ako dahil 43 pesos ang puhunan ko tapos ibebenta ko ng P41 (We just sell the P45 well-milled rice to get back our capital. While I lose profit in selling the regular milled rice which I bought for 43 and would have to sell just for P41)," he said.
Other rice vendors in the area said the suppliers were only able to supply them with well-milled rice and not with regular-milled rice.
They had to wait for their suppliers who will be able to sell them regular milled rice to sell to the public.
They said they only have limited stocks of well-milled rice.
The sellers added that they might temporarily close their stores if they run out of stock.
"Baka nga magsarado na lang din kami kung wala talagang makakapag-supply sa amin. Kaysa naman sa ibigay talaga namin ng palugi eh di lalo naman kaming nalugi ng malaki (We might as well just close down if no one can really supply us with the P41 and P45 rice instead of selling at a really low price, which can lead us to lose a lot more)," the 42-year-old rice retailer said.
"Kung pupwersahin talagang magbenta ng mababa kahit wala talagang makuhanan ng supply, eh magsasara na lang din muna talaga ako pansamantala (if they really force us to sell rice at that low price even if there is really no supply, I'll just close my store temporarily)," the 55-year-old rice retailer said.
In Malabon Central Market, Amy Ramirez, 53, also said that they might close their store once their stocks run out.
Other sellers in the Malabon Central Market said that some of the bigger rice retailers in the market were closed on Tuesday.
A 27-year-old rice retailer, together with other retailers in Malabon Central Market, said it would be better to have a supplier who can provide them with rice at a lower price.
Executive Order No. 39- Series of 2023 mandates a rice price ceiling to prevent price manipulation by traders and retailers, as directed by President Marcos to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Agriculture (DA).
The EO stated that starting Sept. 5, the mandated price ceiling regular milled rice is P41 per kilo and P45 per kilo of well-milled rice.