Jasponica holds own vs imported rice varieties

MANILA, Philippines - The Doña Maria Jasponica premium rice is fast becoming a very popular local brand not only because of its fragrant and delightful aroma but its exceptional eating quality as well.

“It’s comparable to imported quality rice which is more expensive. I have tasted Doña Jasponica once and since then, I never tried to buy other kinds of rice in the market,” said Dr. Santiago Obien, former executive director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

“Kapag naluto na, kahit sardinas o kamatis na may kaunting bagoong lang ang ulam mo, talagang gaganahan kang kumain lalu na kung mainit-init pa nga  ang sinaing,” he said.

Sold in vacuum-sealed packs of two, five, 10 and 25 kilos in leading groceries and supermarkets, Doña Maria Jasponica is much cheaper than imported Thailand and Japanese rice.

Tiffany Lim, marketing supervisor of SL Agritech Corp., said  “more and more housewives  have developed some sort of addiction for this long-grained, glutinous and aromatic rice.” Doña Maria Jasponica is patronized by big hotels and restaurants in Metro Manila, she said.

“Most Koreans, Japanese and Taiwanese restaurants operating in the country serve Jasponica rice not only because it has better quality but it is much cheaper than imported Thai jasmine rice and Japanese rice,” she said.

 Another premium rice that has a growing following from local consumers is the Doña Maria Miponica. Aside from its exceptional eating quality, it is also blessed with the unique texture of Milagrosa rice.

The two rice variants, produced by SL Agritech Corp. and named in honor of the mother of SL Agritech chairman and CEO Henry Lim, combine the fragrant aroma of Jasmine rice and the excellent eating quality of Japanese rice. When cooked, the grains achieve a soft, sticky and chewy texture enhanced further by their aroma.

“We at SL Agritech are very proud of the fact that the Doña Maria rice brand is now becoming very popular among housewives. It is also being patronized by big hotels and restaurants,” Lim said, adding that Doña Maria hybrid grains are timely harvested, thus the maturity and fullness of the grains are export-quality guaranteed.