The government of the Philippines is introducing an ambitious nationwide “Rice-for-all” program that insures affordable retail “palay” prices. This comes after “Program 29” which is offering select Manila and Bulacan residents a dream 29 pesos ($0.50) a kilo for rice.
On July 6, 2024, Genevieve Guevarra, the Assistant Secretary at the Department of Agriculture (DA), promised to start the initiative soon.
Guevarra cites the program will offer between 45 and 48 pesos ($0.77-0.88)) per rice kg, this time round nationally.
Market Prices
In comparison, retail rates for well-milled palay were above the 50-peso mark, at 51.5 pesos ($0.88) a kg on July 5.
Recent average retail rates for well-milled “palay” had peaked at 56.520 pesos ($0.97) a kg on May 27. The price gradually lowered to 56.5 pesos ($0.96) on June 10 and then to 56.35 pesos ($0.96) per kg on June 24. However, this is still double the brief “Program 29’s” appetizing rate of 29 pesos ($0.50) a kg.
The 2024 retail price had peaked at 57.04 pesos ($0.97) per kg on April 15 from inflation. This was despite governmental subsidization efforts through price caps going back to October 2023.
Enter the “Rice-for-all” program
But with the new “rice-for-all” program, there will be not only affordability but quantity guarantee for consumers.
The assistant secretary Gueverra suggested that if there will be 25-kg sack offers, anyone will definitely purchase these affordably.
She added that the first places to get the cheap rice with quantity guarantee will be KADIWA centers. KADIWA is a government platform that directly joins farmers and agripreneurs with consumers, especially via the eKadiwa online page.
“Program 29”
Indeed, the first stores to gain “Program 29” access that preceded the “rice-for-all” initiative were all Kadiwa zones. The rest of the country will follow suit and hence avert a bite of the rising standard of living.
“Program-29” is only accessible to senior residents, the disabled and struggling parents for three days a week.
The 29-peso a kg initiative is currently registering total 10 kg of rice purchases per eligible citizen per month.
Ultimately, the Philippines’ “Rice-for-all” program is a godsend as monthly palay rice inflation has edged from 22.5% to 23% in July 2024. And as the statistics below reveal, like inflation, local prices of rice have been changing over the years since 2000.
Philippines Rice Price Statistics
The Philippines was the 8th biggest producer of rice in the world, at 19,960,000 tonnes in 2021. The country also emerged the second biggest importer of rice globally in 2022 at 3.9 million tonnes. Given this huge appetite for white and brown rice, the country controls prices with minimum retail price (MRP) caps regularly.
What are the retail price highlights of rice in the Philippines in the past 20 years?
According to the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), retail prices were at 17.59 pesos ($0.30) a kg in 2000. By 2008, they had increased to 29.38 pesos ($0.50), and a decade later in 2018 had upped to 40.86 pesos ($0.70) a kg. 2022 saw a retail price depreciation to 39.14 pesos ($0.67) a kg while 2023 witnessed a rise to 42.80 pesos ($0.73) a kg.
How have producer prices of “palay” rice performed in the Philippines since 2000?
Farm-gate prices have performed in concert with retail prices since the turn of the millennium. In 2000, for example, the producer price for “palay” rice was 7.50 pesos ($0.13) a kg. This was 20.09 pesos ($0.34) less than the retail equivalent. By 2008, the rate had hit 14.13 pesos ($0.24) a kg. 10 years later in 2018, the price had notched up to 20.43 pesos ($0.35) a kg. Like the retail category, farm-gate prices dipped in 2022 to 17.44 pesos ($0.30) a kg. They however rose again in 2023 to 19.88 pesos ($0.34) a kg.