P45/kilo rice expected by March 31 —Palace

Malacañang on Wednesday announced that the price of rice could be lowered to P45 per kilo by the end of March.

At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro disclosed that they had a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel about the lowering of the price of rice and pork.

''Nagkaroon po kami kanina ng meeting with Secretary Laurel dahil aasahan po natin ang pagbaba ng presyo ng bigas. Sa darating po na… by March 31—sa ngayon po, ang presyo ng bigas kada kilo ay pumapalo po sa 49 pesos, pero by March 31 po ay aasahan po natin ang pagbaba nito ng 45 pesos,'' Castro said.

(We had a meeting with Secretary Laurel, and we can expect the lowering of the price of rice by March 31. At this point, the price of rice is P49, but by March 31 we can expect it to be lowered to P45.)

Asked about the reason for the decrease in price, Castro said this was because of the world price.

''Sa ngayon po, ang sabi po ni Secretary Laurel ay bumaba po ang world price. Kung nagkakaroon po kasi ng pagtaas talaga ng bigas, ito po ay … ang nagiging basehan, ang one of the factors dito ay iyong world price,'' Castro said.

(Secretary Laurel said the world price also went down. If there's a price increase, the reason for it, or one of the factors, was really the world price.)

''Kung noon po ay may halaga po na pumapalo sa 700 to 740 dollars per ton, ngayon po ay bumaba, kung hindi po tayo nagkakamali ay parang bumaba po sa 400 or lesser, or 380 dollars per ton. So, iyon po ay isa sa mga nakikita natin pong dahilan,'' she added.

(Before, if the price was at 700 to 749 dollars per ton, it now went down to 400 or less, 380 dollars per ton. So, that's one of the reasons why the price of rice was lower.)

According to Castro, Laurel also announced that the price of pork could be lowered by March 10.

''Pati na po ang presyo po ng baboy ay maaari po itong maibaba din po by March 10 sa halaga po… ito po ay sinabi in particular ni Secretary Laurel – ang parte po ng kasim at pige ay bababa po between P350 to P360 per kilo at ang liempo naman po ay maibababa po ng P380 per kilo,'' she said.

(Even the price of pork will be lowered on March 10, that's what Secretary Laurel said in particular. Kasim and Pigue will have a lower price of P350 to P360 per kilo, while liempo could be P380 per kilo.) --VAL, GMA Integrated News