HOUSE QuintaComm Co-Chair Joey Sarte Salceda has issued a stern warning to supermarkets and large rice retailers, signaling the next phase of the House panel’s investigation into rising rice prices. Salceda’s statement follows the committee’s scrutiny of wholesalers and importers, and indicates a shift in focus towards potential price manipulation and profiteering at the retail level.
“I am warning supermarkets and big groceries,” Salceda declared. “We have received reports that imported well-milled rice is being mislabeled as premium rice and sold at P70 per kilo in supermarkets, generating a profit margin of as much as P30 per kilo.”
Salceda revealed that the committee’s analysis indicates that a significant portion – as much as 48 percent – of excess returns in the rice market occurs between the wholesale and retail stages. He directly challenged the explanations offered by the Bureau of Plant Industry and the Grains Retailers Confederation of the Philippines, which attributed persistent price increases to consumer preference for premium rice.
“We checked the latest reference values, and even the highest quality rice from Vietnam is just P41 per kilo after duties,” Salceda stated, highlighting the discrepancy between import prices and retail prices. “That doesn’t explain why prices are stubbornly high at P56, and it doesn’t match the actual average import price of P31 per kilo after duties – that is not a premium price.”
Salceda concluded with a pointed warning: “So, next time I get a reason like that, the committee will be forced to remind people that there are consequences to lying under oath.” This strongly suggests that supermarkets and large retailers will face intense scrutiny from the QuintaComm in the coming hearings, and that the committee will not tolerate what it sees as false justifications for inflated rice prices.
