No more rice is being sold at the promised ₱50 per kilo price cap in local markets, contrary to the insistence of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
This was confirmed by Bantay Bigas and the Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women.
Cathy Estavillo stressed that the truth cannot be hidden: while the DA announced that rice prices would only rise to ₱60 per kilo by September, their monitoring already shows local rice selling at that rate, alongside increases in fuel prices.
She clarified that rice at ₱55 per kilo does exist, but it is imported.
The groups condemned the DA’s announcement of a rice price hike, calling it proof of government inaction and failure to regulate the market.
They also questioned why the DA cited fertilizer costs of ₱3,000 as the main reason for rising local rice prices, when fertilizers can still be bought at ₱2,800.
According to the groups, the surge in local rice prices reveals the DA’s role as little more than a spokesperson for rice importers, leaving consumers and farmers to bear the brunt of worsening economic hardship.
