Palay prices hit 8-year low

The average farm-gate price of palay dropped to a new eight-year low in the second week of October as the main palay harvest begins, data showed.

Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) weekly price monitoring report, the buying price for palay hit P15.53 a kilogram—down 0.2 percent and 26.9 percent from week-ago and year-ago levels, respectively.

This was also the lowest since the November 2011 level of P15.54 a kilo.

While the lowest recorded quotation for the crop rose to P11 a kilo from P10 a kilo the previous week, several provinces saw palay prices drop in their respective areas.

This may be due to the expected excess in supply as rice imports hit 1.9 million metric tons (MT) this year.

The highest recorded buying price was P20.40 a kilo in Surigao del Sur, while the lowest was recorded in Bulacan.

In major rice-producing provinces such as Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Tarlac, Occidental Mindoro, and Cagayan, the prevailing palay rates per kilo were at P17, P15.55, P14, P16, and P14, respectively.