Almost six out of ten Filipinos (59%) said rice had the highest price hike among the food items they bought in the last three months of 2024, a new survey by the Social Weather Stations and Stratbase Group said.
In the survey, 25% said meat had the highest price increase, while 11% said vegetables had the highest price jump. Four percent said seafood prices climbed the most in the last quarter of last year.
The poll also showed that 58% of Filipinos said that steps taken by the government to curb soaring commodity prices are insufficient.
Mindanaoans were the most dissatisfied with the government’s inflation control measures, with 65% saying they were dissatisfied. The National Capital Region (NCR) was slightly behind with 60% noting their dissatisfaction.
Government economic managers had promised that rice prices would go down by at least P5 per kilo as early as a month after the tariff on imported rice was reduced to 15% from 35% in June.
From an average of P54.40 per kilo in June, prices could go down to below P50 as early as August, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto was quoted by business reporters in July last year.
But the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) noted that rice price were still increasing on a year-on-year basis by September, but at a slower pace.
While rice prices slid down in the months that followed in 2024, these were still nowhere near the expected reductions made by economic managers. This led the government to declare a ‘Food Security Emergency’ and impose a ‘maximum suggested retail price’ on imported rice to try to bring down prices.
The PSA said Philippine inflation was steady at 2.9 percent in January, with rice prices actually in deflation. However, price increases quickened for food and non-alcoholic beverages.
National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa blamed the higher vegetable prices on the storms and typhoons that hit the Philippines. He attributed the hike in pork prices, meanwhile, to the problem of African swine fever in certain parts of the country.
Retail prices of rice in the local market declined modestly in January, the first time in nearly four years the staple commodity’s prices went down.
The PSA traced the decline to softening global prices and a reduction in domestic rice tariffs to 15% from the previous 35% in July last year following Executive Order No. 62 issued by President Marcos.
The PSA’s head pointed out that regular milled rice saw a month-on-month deflation -1.1 percent and year-on-year contraction of 2.8 percent.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the deflation of rice prices in January reflects the effectiveness of the Marcos administration’s measures to stabilize the country’s staple food prices.
Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros raised doubts about the DA declaration of a “food security emergency” for rice, saying it offers little hope for Filipinos struggling with high prices and supply issues.
The National Food Authority (NFA) plans to add 30,000 metric tons of rice to the market each month, but the Senator argued that this is a small amount compared to the one million metric tons consumed monthly by Filipinos.
As this developed, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced its readiness to provide aid for the supply delivery chain. LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II ordered all regional directors and heads of law enforcement units to provide help on cargo trucks delivering rice supply across the country.
