By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News

File photo/Bernadette Reyes/GMA Integrated News

The retail prices per kilo of rice are expected to go down this month due to combined base effects and the reduction of tariff rates on the imported grain, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday.

“Reduction sa tariff magsisimula so may posible ‘yung substantial na ire-reduce sa presyo ng bigas nitong August (The reduction in tariffs begins so it’s possible that the substantial reduction in rice prices could be felt this August),” PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said at a press conference.

Executive Order No. 62, which slashed the tariff rates for imported rice to 15% from 35%, took effect early last month.

To recall, the PSA earlier said the reduction in tariffs for the imported grain staple could reduct the retail price per kilo of rice by P6 to P7.

Mapa, however, said the reduction in rice prices seen in July was not significant.

Nonetheless, rice inflation slowed down to 20.9% last month from 22.5% in June.

The PSA chief said the average price per kilo of regular milled rice in July stood at P50.9, down 0.3% from P51.10 per kilo in June.

Well-milled rice also saw a slight reduction by 0.2% to P55.85 per kilo from P55.96 per kilo month-on-month.

The price of special rice, meanwhile, also eased by 0.2% to P64.42 per kilo from P64.56 per kilo in the prior month.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), likewise, said the balance of risks to the inflation outlook has shifted to the downside for 2024 and 2025 “due largely to the impact of the lower import tariff on rice under EO 62.

Apart from the impact of EO 62, Mapa said “base effects” could also influence a possible reduction in rice prices in August.

“Definitely, there will be adjustment in terms of rice inflation this August simply because its base was high in August 2023,” he said.

The PSA chief said rice inflation began its acceleration in August last year when it clocked in at 8.7% from 4.2% in June 2023.

Rice inflation began trailing its double-digit acceleration streak in September 2023, when it stood at 17.9%.

To ease consumers’ burden due to higher rice prices, the Department of Agriculture (DA) launched the Rice-for-All program on August 1.

Under the program, the general public can purchase rice at P45 per kilo at select Kadiwa outlets.

The program is a follow-up on the P29 Rice Program, wherein vulnerable sectors can purchase subsidized rice at P29 a kilo at several Kadiwa outlets. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

Published Date: August 6, 2024