Marcos backs rice sec emergency over high prices

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. expressed support on Friday for declaring a food security emergency to address persistently high rice prices, citing that tariff cuts on rice implemented in June 2024 did not help bring down prices.

The National Price Coordinating Council has already approved a resolution urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to declare a 'food security emergency for rice', and this recommendation will be formally transmitted to the DA by next week.

Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel stated that declaring this emergency is justified based on available data, enabling the release of buffer stock from National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses to stabilize prices and free up space in NFA facilities ahead of the February harvest.

President Marcos cited market concerns in supporting the emergency declaration, noting that despite decreasing production costs, rice prices remain high due to a disconnect between supply and demand.

The DA's own monitoring shows while imported well-milled and regular milled rice varieties have seen price reductions, special and premium rice prices remain high.