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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Dominguez defends rice tariffication law

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Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Thursday there is no need to review the Rice Tariffication Law amid statements from some industry players that the drop in retail prices of the main staple was minimal despite the big volume of imports.

“No,” Dominguez said in response to a question whether the law should be reviewed. He cited data from the weekly survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showing a marked improvement in the prices of rice compared to September 2018.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III

Data showed that well-milled rice in September 2018 cost P49.56 per kilo, which dropped to P45.09 a kilo in January 2019 and P42.92 a kilo in June,

Dominguez said the rice liberalization law was one of the most important legislative achievements of the 17th Congress and the Duterte administration. He said prices fell by P5 to P10 a kilo in some areas since their peak in September last year. On average, the contribution of rice to inflation was negative in June 2019. 

“We see this in the reduction in self-rated poverty during the first quarter of 2019, now at its historic low as reported by SWS,” he said.

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