Lawmakers dismayed with high prices of rice despite reduced import tariffs on staple grain

PTVPhilippines

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Transcript

00:00Among the most unscrupulous merchants in the country are rice traders and retailers who still maintain lofty costs despite developments in the market and a glut in the supply of local and imported rice.

00:13Our Melalee Sumoras on an increasingly clear collusion between rice traders and retailers, which the House so long scored in today's latest hearing on the matter.

00:24I will pay my salary, bonus and household expenses.

00:29You cannot buy a lentil for less than P50.00.

00:33It's very rare, Mr. Chair.

00:35We are being fooled by these merchants.

00:38I'm sorry for my language, but we are being fooled somewhere else.

00:42The customs said P33.00.

00:45The wholesaler said P35.00 to P40.00.

00:49Why is it in the market for P50.00?

00:52Lawmakers are dismayed over the high prices of rice in the market, even after the government reduced tariffs on imported rice.

00:59During the continuation of the hearing by the House Kinta Committee or the Murang Pagkain Supercommittee, one of the reasons identified by the lawmakers is the alleged collusion among rice importers and traders.

01:11It's very clear that there is a collusion.

01:16We saw the self-sufficiency ratio, the demand over supply, less than 1.

01:24It means there is excess supply.

01:27If there is excess supply, it means the price should go down.

01:31During the hearing, it was revealed that the two top rice importers in the country allegedly have the same owner.

01:38House Deputy Speaker David J. J. Suarez has criticized the Bureau of Plant Industry for allowing this to happen.

01:44Why didn't you check it?

01:46Sir, we are reviewing it now.

01:48You can't review it now.

01:50It's already done.

01:52You should do your job now.

01:54When they were still applying, you should have checked it already.

01:57Who knows, maybe later, those top five, only three will happen.

02:03A number of rice importers attended the hearing and protested against why they are being blamed for the situation.

02:09What we are being blamed for now is that we, the importers, became the spotlight.

02:13In fact, Hon. Tupo is right.

02:18We can see the problem with the retailers.

02:21We don't have a cartel.

02:23We don't do profiteering.

02:26We're dictated by the market prices.

02:29We don't do hoarding.

02:31For now, lawmakers are determined to lower the price of rice ASAP.

02:36According to the Department of Agriculture's estimate, a price reduction is expected by January.

02:42Initially, we said it's October.

02:44And then now that we're looking at the stocks, we're looking that it might come down by January next year.

02:55Melalee Moras from the National TV Network for a New and Better Philippines.

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