The Department of Agriculture (DA) revealed that there are around 20 million kilos of imported rice that "may have been sitting in Manila ports for months" now.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. called on the Philippine Ports Authority to speed uo the movement of nearly a thousand container vans filled with imported rice in Manila ports.

“We respectfully urge the PPA to prioritize the movement of these rice stocks to help increase supply for this essential food staple and potentially lower retail prices," he said.

According to PPA estimates, there are more than 888 shipping vans containing approximately 20 million kilos (or 20,000 metric tons) of rice presently sitting in the container yards of Manila ports.

The Department of Agriculture said PPA General Manager Jay Santiago led the media during the inspection of the container vans on Thursday.

Santiago explained that the consignees might be deliberately delaying the withdrawal of imported rice in anticipation of higher market prices".

“We are thankful that the PPA has acted promptly on the information we provided and recognized the potential issue of hoarding of imported rice in Manila ports,” said Laurel.

He said delay in releasing the imported rice has raised concerns over food security, especially as the country faces ongoing inflation pressures.

"By facilitating the swift movement of these goods, the government aims to stabilize rice prices and ensure that consumers have access to affordable food," the DA said.

In a previous interview, Assistant Agriculture Secretary Arnel De Mesa said lower rice prices was expected to be felt by August as the implementation of the lowered tariff on imported rice started in July.

According to the estimate of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the price of rice may go down by 6 to 7 pesos per kilo due to the tariff cuts. Robina Asido/DMS