Citing current trends in Southeast Asia, President Marcos expressed optimism that rice prices in the country would ease further.
Malacañang said Marcos made the statement during a sectoral meeting on managing food and non-food inflation on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
“Doon sa rice mukha namang sumusunod dun sa projections natin sa rice prices (In terms of rice, it looks like it's within our projections on rice prices). And it seems to be consistent again with the same experience of other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries like Thailand and Vietnam,” Marcos said during the meeting.
“So, I think as the time goes on, that should improve,” he added.
Rice was the top inflation driver, contributing 1.3 percentage points to inflation. Inflation further decelerated to 14.7 percent, but prices remained elevated.
Prices of rice in Vietnam and Thailand moderated last month, as available data for September showed a decline in the prices of the staple.
The landed cost of the imported staple declined by 15 percent (around P7 per kilogram) as of mid-September, following the implementation of reduced tariffs under Executive Order No. 62, s. 2024.
The President said the country also has to resort to sugar importation to ensure supply and stabilize prices.
The retail price of refined sugar remains elevated at 35 percent, higher than the January 2022 level, before prices spiked.
Overall inflation eased from 4.4 percent in July 2024 to 3.3 percent in August 2024 due to slower food and non-food inflation, with rice being the major inflation driver.
Average inflation for the period January to August 2024 reached 3.6 percent, within the government’s target of 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent for the year.
Authorities reported that food inflation decelerated from 6.4 percent in July 2024 to 3.9 percent in August, with slower inflation in rice, meat, bread, other cereals, and ready-made food products. Deflation was recorded in fish, vegetables, and sugar.