00:00 Good news for consumers. Despite the continuous tightening of the belt for our countrymen because of the high prices of goods in the market,
00:08 the price of rice is slowly decreasing this month. The Agriculture Department is continuing its work.
00:15 This is the story of Clayzel Pardilla.
00:22 The price monitoring of the Department of Agriculture in the markets in Metro Manila, from P42 to P65 last September,
00:32 has dropped from P40 to P62, or almost P3 per kilo of rice.
00:38 The price of rice started to stabilize and drop.
00:42 Some rice retailers in the Camoning Market noticed a decrease in the price of rice in each basket. But they still feel it's a burden to the buyers.
00:54 It dropped by P10. The price of rice is still a burden to the buyers because they have to pay for the plastic.
01:03 That's why consumers like Nico are still saving.
01:08 Before, it used to be P10 per kilo per week. Now, it's dropping.
01:13 Maybe P3 to P5 per kilo every week. I hope it will drop even more.
01:18 The DA said that the price of rice could drop from P36 to P38 by the end of October.
01:27 The rice is already being sold in different parts of the country. The agency said that it will take more than 10 days or almost three months for the rice inventory to be completed before the end of 2023.
01:41 That's why the DA insisted.
01:43 We don't expect that the price will increase.
01:47 If additional imports will be added, by the end of September, it will reach more than P271,000 metric tons.
01:56 Historically, there are still many imports.
02:00 We expect that the rice supply will be good and stable until the next year.
02:11 The agency is now focusing on reducing the price of rice by distributing more than P12 billion to the collected rice from imported rice.
02:26 We will give to our farmers through equipment, tractors, harvesters, and dryers to reduce the cost of production.
02:38 The trucks that deliver our food are no longer blocked by all the boundaries they pass through.
02:45 That's why the price of transportation will drop, the cost of transportation will drop, and the food delivery will be faster.
02:55 At the same time, there will be a challenge to agricultural smuggling, hoarding, and rice manipulation.
03:03 It is clear from the government that all kinds of rice manipulation and other purchases are making our farmers suffer.
