THE government should closely monitor rice retail to prevent price gouging and stop traders from exploiting farmers who sell rice at low farmgate prices, a congressman said on Tuesday.
In a statement, Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Food Authority (NFA) to step up its price monitoring activities and intervene to stabilize rice prices.
“We need to ensure that our farmers earn a fair income while keeping prices affordable for consumers,” Mr. Enverga, who heads the House of Representatives agriculture panel, said in Filipino.
Palay farmgate prices in February averaged at P20.70, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. DA data showed that a kilo of regular milled rice averaged at P47.20 last month.
Mr. Enverga recommended that DA and NFA create a “real-time digital price monitoring system” to inform consumers and producers about the range of rice prices, aiming to reduce artificially inflated prices.
“There should be clear pricing to avoid deceiving farmers. If there is price tracking in the market, we can immediately see who is cheating,” he said. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
