The average farmgate price of dry palay (unmilled rice) fell 22.7% year on year in October to an average of P15.89 per kilo, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a preliminary report.
Month on month, the average palay farmgate price rose 1.9%, the PSA said.
The October year-on-year decline eased compared with the 30.5% decline in September.
None of the 15 rice-producing regions posted year-on-year growth in average farmgate prices last month.
The highest palay prices in October were posted in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at P19.62 per kilo, down from P24.18 a year earlier and P20.34 a month earlier.
The lowest palay prices in October were logged in Calabarzon at P12.26 per kilo, compared with P18.10 a year earlier and P12.70 a month earlier.
In Central Luzon, the average farmgate price in October was P15.14 per kilo, down from P20.02 a year earlier and P13.98 a month earlier.
Farmers’ groups said the findings of the PSA confirm the concerns of rice farmers.
“The PSA just validated our concerns; P15.89 for dry palay at a production cost of P15 per kilo means farmers are truly losing under the current regime of reduced tariffs,” Jayson H. Cainglet, executive director of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, told BusinessWorld via Viber.
Mr. Cainglet added that the P15.89 farmgate price is “P8 less than the equitable farmgate price of at least P23 per kilo under Executive Order No. 101.”
Raul Q. Montemayor, national manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, told BusinessWorld via Viber that the ban on rice imports, which started in September and was extended until the end of the year, did not help increase farmgate prices.
“This was brought about by the huge imports in 2024, of which excess stocks were carried over into 2025. The import ban did not help because the supply was not affected. Also, traders hedged against the possibility of cheap imports coming in again once the ban is lifted, and played it safe by continuing to buy palay at low prices,” Mr. Montemayor said.
However, Mr. Montemayor projects that palay prices could pick up in November as supply tightens.
“This is probably due to dwindling imported stocks, plus the fact that harvests are already at their tail end. Because of the announcement of the import ban until December, traders may be starting to compete with each other for remaining palay stocks in anticipation of tight supplies later in the year and early 2026,” he said. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel