BALANGA CITY — Prices of rice at the public market here were up by P1 to P2 per kilo and are expected to rise more for lack of supply, rice retailers said Tuesday.
Marilou Dela Rosa, stall holder at the rice section of the Balanga City Public Market, pointed to rice that used to be sold at P42 a kilo, now priced at P44 and those previously costing P40 up to P41.
“Maaari pang magtaas habang wala pang anihan at nag-abiso na sa amin ang mga supplier na maaari pang tumaas ang presyo dahil sa kakulangan ng supply ng bigas hanggang hindi pa nag-aanihan,” she said.
Rice harvest this cropping season in rice-producing areas in the country is still in October. Dela Rosa said they get their supply of rice from Nueva Ecija, Bulacan,
Pangasinan and other provinces.
In Bataan, harvest begins end of September to early October.
Dela Rosa said she has rice sold for only P30 a kilo but this kind of rice is not suited for human consumption. “Sobrang laon na ito na pwedeng pagkain ng mga
alaga at hindi na pwede sa tao.”
She said that there is also no supply of rice from the National Food Authority priced at P27 a kilo since the country was hit by the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease.
