The maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice is now at PhP45 per kilo, Malacañang said on Wednesday, noting the drop in global prices of the staple.

“Nasa 45 pesos kada kilo ang maximum suggested retail price or MSRP ng imported rice kasunod ng patuloy na pagbaba ng global rice prices,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said during a Malacañang briefing.

Castro quoted the Department of Agriculture (DA) as saying that since the MSRP was implemented, there was a reduction of PhP19 from the price of imported rice, which previously sold at PhP64 per kilo.

She said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) sees the MSRP as a big factor in reducing rice prices and slowing inflation.

“Nakatulong din ang mas mababang presyo ng bigas sa pagbagal ng inflation rate nitong Pebrero sa 2.1 percent mula 2.9 percent noong Enero,” Castro said.

The MSRP was implemented after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved the reduction of rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent in July 2024. | PND