THE wholesale price of rice declined sharply year on year in December, according to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA said the national average wholesale price of well-milled rice declined 9.7% to P42.94. The biggest decline in the well-milled rice wholesale price was logged in Central Luzon, where it fell 16.5% year on year to P40.10 per kilo.
Wholesale prices of well-milled rice in the National Capital Region rose 10.1% from a year earlier to P51.58 per kilo.
The average wholesale price of regular-milled rice in December fell 13.2% year on year to P37.83 per kilo.
The Cagayan Valley posted the biggest decline in the wholesale price of regular-milled rice, with the regional average falling 23.1% year on year to P31.24 per kilo.
The wholesale price of regular-milled rice in the National Capital Region fell 2.3% year on year to P43.15 per kilo.
Premium and special rice also posted wholesale price declines, with their national averages falling 5.5% and 3.2%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the national average wholesale price of yellow corn grains in December fell 1.8% year on year to P23.87 per kilo. The corresponding price for white corn grains rose 37.1% to P25.34 per kilo.
The wholesale price of yellow corn grits in December was little changed, while the price of white corn grits rose 10.2% year on year. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel