Farmers in Mangaldan, Pangasinan are holding off selling rice because the buying price is too low, which could lead to losses.

One of the farmers, Romeo Mamaysan, has been drying his harvested rice for two days but has no plans of selling it yet.

"Mababa ngayon, sobrang mura ng bilihan. Lugi kami kasi ang taas ng expenses, ‘yung abono, tapos mababa lang presyo," he said, referring to the high cost of farming inputs like fertilizers.

According to the Municipal Agriculture Office, the current buying price for palay, or unhusked rice, is P21 per kilo, lower than the P24 to P25 per kilo in 2023.

"’Yun ang daing ng ating mga farmers, kasi sabay-sabay silang nag-harvest... bumaba ang presyo ng palay natin," Merle Cuison-Sali, the municipal agriculturist, said.

As of this writing, farmers have harvested from about 70 percent of the rice fields in Mangaldan, covering 1,420 hectares.

However, the production of harvested palay has dropped to 5.1 metric tons this season, lower than the 6.9 metric tons in 2023.