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Friday, March 29, 2024

The cost of Marcos’ P20/kilo rice aspiration

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to bring rice prices down to just P20 per kilo.

With immense funding, he can, especially now that he has assumed the position of agriculture chief. But this comes at a cost, which would sideline other agricultural products and have immense implications for public health.

Here’s some of the reasons why his low target price is terrible economics.

The Philippines’ natural disadvantage

Neighboring Southeast Asian countries, like Vietnam and Thailand, have something that the Philippines doesn’t have: land suitable for growing rice.

In a discussion paper published by the Food and Agriculture Organization, economist David Dawe said that countries that are able to export are situated on the Southeast Asian “mainland,” while the Philippines, as well as fellow rice importers Malaysia and…

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