Rice inflation to continue acceleration until July — PSA

Filipinos should expect the faster increase in the prices of rice, a food staple among households, to last until July this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday.

At a press conference, PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa reported that rice inflation rate accelerated to 24.4% in March, faster than the 23.7% recorded in February.

This is the fastest inflation print for the grain staple in 15 years since rice inflation was recorded at 24.6% in February 2009.

Mapa said the continued high double-digit increase in rice inflation was due to a low base effect seen in January to July 2023, when inflation for the agricultural produce was relatively low.

“Our expectation is it will increase strongly until July because of [low] base effect… unless there is an intervention that will happen in the market that will bring down prices,” the PSA chief said.

“We expect that in August it will gradually slow down,” he said.

The PSA chief said the Statistics agency monitored that the movements in the average prices of three main rice classes —regular milled, well-milled, and special— saw higher year-on-year increments.

In particular, the average price of regular milled rice was at P51.11 per kilogram in March 2024, up from P39.90 per kilogram in March 2023.

The average price of well-milled rice, on the other hand, stood at P56.44 per kilo from P44.23 per kilo year-on-year.

Special rice’s average price was at P64.75 per kilo in March this year from P54 a kilo in March last year.

In a statement, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the government is “closely monitoring weather conditions and their effects on the supply of key commodities, such as food and energy, to protect Filipino households from sudden price increases.”

“To ensure sufficient water supply and support our farmers during the dry season, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been tasked with monitoring water supply in the country. Simultaneously, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is proactively extending assistance to farmers adversely affected by the drought," Balisacan said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News