THE national average retail price for well-milled rice in late August was P50.69 per kilogram (kg), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report.
Prices rose 8% in the Aug. 15 to 17 period, which the PSA refers to as the second phase of July, compared with prices between Aug. 1 and 5, or the first phase.
The PSA said that the highest retail price was recorded in Zamboanga Peninsula at P54.24 per kg.
At the low end was Western Visayas with well-milled rice prices at P48.84 per kg during the period.
The PSA said that regular-milled rice averaged P45.68 per kg, or 2.64% lower compared to the first phase.
Northern Mindanao posted the highest average price at P43.32 per kg, while Cagayan Valley was lowest at P37.01 per kg.
The national average retail price for refined sugar was P83.4 per kg.
In the second phase of August, prices in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) were the highest at P90.36 per kg. The low was reported in Zamboanga Peninsula at P77.78 per kg.
Brown sugar averaged P83.2 per kg.
The PSA reported that Calabarzon had the highest retail price for brown sugar at P90.36 per kg; while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao posted the low of P77.85 per kg.
Pork meat with bones averaged P289.51 per kg., with the highest retail price reported in Calabarzon at P311.6 per kg. Central Visayas posted the low of 242.78 per kg. — Adrian H. Halili
