(L-R) Trade Assistant Secretary Agaton Teodoro Uvero, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and Department of Agriculture (DA) spokesperson Arnel de Mesa, and National Food Authority Acting Department Manager Roy Untiveros during a press conference on food security emergency on rice on February 5, 2025. (Photo by Jordeene B. Lagare)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Tuesday it will further slash the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for 5 percent broken imported rice to P55 per kilogram starting tomorrow, Feb. 5.
“And then, by Feb. 15, the MSRP will now be nationwide,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
De Mesa, also the DA’s spokesperson, said the DA plans to slash the MSRP further in the coming weeks after the periodic review.
The DA imposed the MSRP for imported rice in public and private markets on Jan. 20, initially within the National Capital Region, to tame rising rice prices despite tariff cuts and the decline in global prices.