MARCOS ON LOWER RICE PRICES: ALMOST THERE

THE administration’s goal of lowering the price of rice to P20 per kilo is within sight, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.

Speaking at the launch of the “Kadiwa ng Pangulo” in Camarines Sur, Marcos gave assurances that the government’s initiatives such as the farm-to-consumer project helps give the public access to more affordable commodities and food staples such as rice.

The Kadiwa market in Camarines Sur, the first in the Bicol Region, sells rice from the National Food Authority at P25 a kilo.

“Before I assumed office, I said my dream was to lower the price of rice to P20. We have not yet reached that. We are slowly getting there. We’re now at P25. Just a little more, we’ll get there,” he said.

The President added that his administration is pulling all the stops to make agricultural products such as rice and other items cheaper for the public “as soon as possible” and that they will “keep working on it.”

To sustain the Kadiwa market in Bicol and ensure micro, small, and medium enterprises thrive, Marcos assured that the government will provide assistance to all farmers, fisherfolk, and small businesses to increase their yields.

“There’s only one answer to that, because if we cannot sustain production we would import. And we are trying to avoid importation. That’s why we are ramping up on the production side. Because if we have many and we improve the system and bring them to the markets, we can control the prices,” he explained.

He said that boosting local production will slowly insulate the country from importing goods, thus managing inflation.

“As long as our production increases, production cost will decrease. Prices will be lower, the transport, processing, all of those are included in the assistance the government will provide,” the President said.