The Department of Agriculture refuted the claim of the National Economic and Development Authority that reduced tariff on imported rice did not result in lower retail prices.
“If we will take a look, there’s a decline in the price of rice per our monitoring,” DA spokesperson Arnel De Mesa said.
“If not for the tariff cut from 35% to 15% signed by the President, rice prices these days would be higher because of damage to agriculture and the high dollar exchange rate,” De Mesa added.
NEDA Director Nieva Natural on Tuesday told the House “Murang Pagkain” Super Committee that the President’s Executive Order 62, which lowered the tariff on imported rice, did not lead to a reduction in prices as expected.
“This is a puzzle also for us… Perhaps this deserves a more nuanced analysis,” Natural said.
