Palay prices drop 2.8% in 1st half

MANILA, Philippines — The average farmgate price of palay (unhusked rice) dropped by 2.8 percent in the first half of the year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

In its latest report, the PSA said farmgate prices of palay averaged at P16.94 per kilo from January to June, lower than the P17.42 per kilo recorded in the same period last year.

“The monthly average farmgate price of palay ranged from P 16.40 to P17.22 per kilogram,” the PSA said.

The lowest average farmgate price for this year was recorded in January at P16.40 per kilo, while the highest was registered in March at P17.22 per kilo.

The average wholesale price of rice dropped by 1.9 percent to P37.48 per kilo.

“The monthly average wholesale price of rice during the period ranged from P37.04 to P 38.06 per kilo,”the PSA said.

The lowest average farmgate price for this year was recorded in February at P16.40 per kilo, while the highest was registered in June at P38.06 per kilo.

In the National Capital Region, the average wholesale price of rice registered at P 33.51 per kilo, 0.8 percent higher than the previous year’s P33.23 per kilo.

“The monthly average wholesale prices of rice ranged from P33.20 to P33.73 per kilo,”the PSA said.

The lowest average wholesale price was recorded in February, while the highest was registered in April.

In addition, the average retail price of rice in NCR grew 2.7 percent in the first half to P42.61 per kilo.

“The monthly average retail prices of rice for this period were higher than their respective records in 2020 except in June 2021 at P42.73 per kilo,”the PSA said.

Meanwhile, the average farmgate price of yellow corn rose by 3.9 percent in the first half to P12.90 per kilo.

The lowest average farmgate price was recorded in January at P12.20 per kilo, while the highest was registered in June at P13.68 per kilo.

At wholesale trade,however, the average price of yellow corn fell 18.3 percent to P17.32 per kilo from P 21.20 per kilogram.

The average retail price of yellow corn increased by 14 percent to P28.37.

In contrast, the lowest was registered in June at P28.25 per kilo.

Average farmgate price of white corn decreased by 0.1 percent to P13.99 per kilo.

The average wholesale price of white corn jumped by 23.6 percent to P21.84 per kilo.

The highest wholesale price was recorded in June at P24.89 per kilo while the average retail price of white corn also increased 4.2 percent to P 28.71 per kilo.