MANILA, Philippines – Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said an increase in rice prices – ranging from P60 to P62/kilo – is likely by September due to high fertilizer costs.

“If we do traditional practices using urea, if we don’t use alternatives or farmers don’t adopt the alternative fertilizers DA is suggesting, the computation as of yesterday is P62 per kilo,” said Tiu Laurel during a Senate hearing Wednesday, April 29.

An alternative the government is proposing is the use of biofertilizers developed in the University of the Philippines Los Baños. While cheaper and more environment-friendly, these could not be used to completely replace urea.

As of Monday, April 27, average premium rice in the National Capital Region is at P58.87/kilo. Well-milled rice is at P48/kilo while regular-milled rice averages at P42.50/kilo.

Tiu Laurel said some solutions they are eyeing to keep products cheap for consumers are blends of imported and locally produced rice as well as blend of white corn and rice.

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For farmers to profit in September, Tiu Laurel said farm gate prices should be at P22/kilo for wet palay (unmilled rice) and P27/kilo for dry palay given the current fertilizer prices.

Food production and security concerns may be heightened more due to a pending El Niño. El Niño was the primary reason for the P57.8-billion agricultural production loss recorded in 2024.

According to the DA, the government is reviving its El Niño Task Force, composed of various agencies. – Rappler.com