SINAG warns of possible decline in palay prices during harvest season

Farmers group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) over the weekend expressed concern over the possible further decline of palay or unmilled rice next month, when the harvest season is expected to peak.

According to SINAG chairman Rosendo So, the 60-day suspension on the import of rice into the country is not expected to have major effects on retail prices, but this could bring prices down even further.

“Malaki kasi ‘yung harvest ng ating local eh, so kung peak ng harvest ito, baka ang [iniisip] namin is ‘pag bumagsak ang presyo, kaya bang bilhin ng government ‘yung palay?” he said in a report by Katrina Son on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

“‘Yun ang problema natin kasi ang pondo ng government is maliit lang,” she added.

(Because the local harvest will be big if this is the peak of the harvest season, what we’re thinking is if price fall, can the government afford to buy the palay? That’s our problem because the government’s funds are just small.)

This comes as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier this month announced a 60-day suspension on rice importation starting September 1, 2025, in efforts to bring the prices of palay to be at level that will give farmers income.

Citing data from the National Food Authority (NFA), the DA said buying prices for dry palay have increased by 0.3 to 2.6% in Central Luzon, Bicol, Central Visayas, and parts of Mindanao since late July, just before Marcos Jr. ordered the import ban.

Average prices in Central Luzon—which includes major producer Nueva Ecija—have ranged from P16.98 to P20.59 per kilo, and have held steady at P16.52 in Southern Tagalog, and P17.60 in Western Visayas.

Meanwhile, prices have dropped in Ilocos, the Cagayan Valley (P14.43), Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and the Bangasamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (P21.67).

“We are watching the market’s response to the rice import suspension very closely,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

“If palay prices remain low during the ban, we may consider extending it, or recommend that President Marcos increase tariffs. And if prices of palay rise, we could shorten the ban,” he added. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News