By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday announced it is slashing further the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice in the coming month.

“The maximum suggested retail price for imported rice will be lowered to P49 per kilo starting Saturday, March 1, marking the first time since the MSRP was introduced six weeks ago that it will slip below the P50 mark,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

Tiu Laurel, however, said that the MSRP will not be implemented nationwide.

Instead, the Agriculture chief said the DA will take a more “surgical” approach by imposing the MSRP “selectively in Metro Manila, key cities, and other urban centers.”

“In many provincial areas, we’ve seen prices of imported rice already lower than the MSRP. So we will apply it more selectively,” Tiu Laurel said.

The DA first introduced the MSRP on January 20, setting an initial price of P58 per kilo.

The imposition of an MSRP on imported rice is described by the DA as a “non-coercive” measure aimed at steering retail prices of imported rice to reflect the steady decline in world market prices and the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to slash rice tariffs from 35% to 15%.

The DA has since gradually reduced the MSRP to ease the transition for the rice industry.

Before the introduction of the MSRP, imported rice that are 5% broken were sold between P62 and P64 per kilo, according to the DA.

“We will review the numbers in the coming days to determine if there’s room to lower the MSRP further. As of now, there could be scope for additional reductions, but we’ll have to see,” Tiu Laurel said.

Published Date: February 26, 2025