Philippines Gov’t to hold palay buying prices as rice imports resume
The Philippines’ National Food Authority will maintain palay buying prices at ₱17/kg for wet and ₱21/kg for dry palay during the summer harvest to support farmers amid regular rice imports. The Department of Agriculture focuses on sustaining the P20 rice program, expanding coverage, and improving farm-to-market roads to boost incomes and reduce post-harvest losses.
The National Food Authority (NFA) will keep its buying prices for palay at P17 per kilo for wet palay and P21 per kilo for dry palay during the summer harvest to support local farmers, as rice import shipments become regular following the lifting of the import ban.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said ensuring fair palay prices is the agency’s most urgent challenge, along with making sure rice farming becomes profitable to encourage farmers and secure the country’s supply.
Pressure on palay prices was evident earlier in 2025, when farmgate prices fell sharply following heavy import arrivals.
In September, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. banned rice imports after farmgate prices dropped to as low as P8 per kilo.
The import pause effectively limited 2025 rice imports to about 3.5 million metric tons, which Tiu Laurel described as more appropriate than the 4.8 million metric tons brought in during 2024.
Keeping the NFA palay buying price will be a challenge as the Department of Agriculture (DA) scales up the “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” program to reach 15 million households.
“Next year will mark the full implementation of the P20 rice program,” Tiu Laurel said. “We believe we are ready, but it is easier said than done.”
With rice prices only slightly higher than the NFA’s buying price, the sustainability and viability of the P20-per-kilo rice program appear mathematically impossible.
The DA said broader coverage will depend on maintaining adequate buffer stocks, tightening logistics, and coordinating closely with local governments to prevent supply disruptions and leakages as distribution expands.
Tiu Laurel also pointed to a third major test: executing about P33 billion worth of farm-to-market road projects recently transferred to the DA following a flood-control corruption controversy.
He said the projects were handed over only months ago and are expected to move once the General Appropriations Act is released, lea
ving the DA to build implementation capacity that previously resided with the Department of Public Works and Highways.
“That’s a real challenge,” he said. “We have to go from zero to one hundred.”
With tight timelines, Tiu Laurel said the DA has been holding near-daily coordination meetings to prepare for rollout and oversight.
“We want this done properly—transparent, corruption-free, and built to the right standards of quality and durability,” he said.
Farm-to-market roads are intended to cut post-harvest losses and transport costs while improving market access, supporting the government’s broader push for more affordable food, rural development, and higher farm incomes.
Tiu Laurel said the DA believes it can deliver projects at costs up to 20% lower than in prior years while reaching more farms nationwide.
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Source : Bilyonaryo
