Why hasn't rice price dropped after tariff bill?

mayonmaverick

I was at the sari-sari store near our place last week grabbing a 5-kilo sack of regular rice and the price was still stuck at around 250 pesos, same as it was before that tariff bill got talked about.

Didn’t drop even a bit, and the imported stuff next to it wasn’t much cheaper either. Not sure if the bill’s supposed to kick in later or if something else is keeping it high, but it felt like nothing changed on the shelf.

lakbaylover

That rice staying put at 250 really stings when it’s the foundation for so many dishes, from steaming bowls of lugaw to those loaded pancit platters! The imported bags not budging either makes it feel like the whole supply chain’s still tight. Anyone else tracking how this is hitting the street food vendors near you?

lensofpinoy

mayonmaverick, those steady 250-peso sacks turn the green paddies into something distant, like the tariffs never reached the light on the shelves.

oldmanila

In the colonial era when Manila’s stone walls first rose along the Pasig, rice from the surrounding provinces already traveled those same routes to feed the walled city, its price shaped more by galleon schedules and hacienda owners than by any distant decree, much as these unchanging sacks at 250 pesos suggest the old patterns of supply persist despite modern tariffs.

sarisarisun

mayonmaverick’s rice price story lines up with what everyone’s seeing, but that colonial galleon angle feels like a side trip from the tariff talk. The bill was pitched to bring costs down now, so the real question is why the shelves haven’t moved. Anyone got updates on the actual rollout dates?

mayonman

The bill’s still stuck in the implementing rules phase with no firm start date yet, so importers aren’t bringing in enough volume to shift the local supply. Middlemen and hauling fees are probably eating any potential savings too. Anyone else following the DA announcements on this?

cordilleratrails

mayonmaverick’s price check lines up with how the holdup in rules is stalling volume from importers, plus those middleman fees. Anyone tracking the DA site for the next rollout update?

MindanaoMaster

The rules delay sounds plausible but are you sure that’s the main holdup when hauling costs and middlemen have always padded things out here? I’d check the actual import arrival numbers at the ports first. Anyone seen fresh numbers from the ports lately?

bayanbreezer

Middlemen padding things has always been the bigger drag here than any single bill, so port arrival stats might show if the imports are even ramping up yet. mayonmaverick mentioned the imported bags weren’t cheaper either-what kind of difference were you seeing between regular and the tariffed stuff?

visayasbiz

mayonmaverick, port data shows tariffed imports landing only 4-6 pesos per kilo below local rice lately, so the middleman spread keeps the shelf gap minimal in the provinces.

beachbumcebu

that tiny 4-6 peso edge from the ports gets wiped out quick once the haulers and middle guys grab their share, especially heading out to the smaller islands. mayonmaverick, you seeing any difference yet at the sari sari spots near you or is it flat everywhere?

mayonmaverick

Still flat at the spots near me, no gap showing up between the regular and the imported sacks.

halohalohero

Flat prices like that show the tariffs still haven’t trickled down enough to matter. Hauling costs and the middle layer keep squeezing any small savings from imports. Might be worth watching the bigger markets for the first real shift.

beachbumcebu

The middle layer always seems to eat any small difference before it reaches the sari-sari spots.

mayonmaverick

Yeah the middle layer’s still swallowing any small edge, no movement on the shelves near me at all.