Marcos Orders Emergency Palay Procurement as Prices Plunge to ?6/kilo

AGRI-NEWS | Farming Posted on 2025-10-01 00:06:25

MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to launch an emergency government procurement of palay to shield farmers from collapsing prices brought about by adverse weather and peak harvest conditions.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said an executive order is being readied to authorize the measure, along with other interventions to stabilize the market following the two-month rice import ban that began September 1.

Speaking during the House’s 2026 budget debates on Monday, Tiu Laurel noted that farmgate prices, which had climbed to ₱14 per kilo shortly after the ban, have since crashed back to pre-freeze levels. In Northern Luzon, where heavy rains and flooding hit rice fields, wet palay has been bought for as low as ₱6 per kilo.
“This is quite alarming. Over the weekend, everyone in the DA has been at work. I was with President Marcos in Northern Luzon, and these are the decisions that have been made,” he said.

Key measures under consideration include:

• Extending the rice import ban for at least 30 more days, possibly until yearend;

• Setting a palay floor price;

• Raising rice tariffs beyond the current 15 percent after the ban;

• Restricting government agencies and LGUs from purchasing imported rice;

• Authorizing the National Food Authority (NFA) to carry out emergency palay procurement and lease private warehouses to expand storage.

Tiu Laurel, who chairs the NFA Council, said the agency is prepared to buy wet palay at ₱17 per kilo under the emergency plan. He added that rice millers and local traders have recommended a two-month extension of the import ban to support domestic prices.

NPO News Team I DA-PR

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