A House lawmaker on Sunday claims traders and importers could be manipulating rice prices in the country.

In an interview with dzBB, AGAP Partylist Rep. Nicanor Briones alleged rice supplies are in the warehouses of major traders and importers and they are controlling when it will be released in the market.

“They can really manipulate the price. They can delay the release of the rice and keep it in their warehouses while they wait for the prices to keep rising,” Briones remarked.

According to the Department of Agriculture (DA) price monitoring, local well-milled rice is sold at P40 to P57 a kilo while regular milled rice is sold from P41 to P55 in markets in Metro Manila.

Briones said rice prices are expected to go down next month as the harvest season starts.

He also urged the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to inspect the warehouses to ensure that there is no hoarding.

“If the Department of Agriculture and the DTI don’t visit the warehouses, then we won’t know if there is someone who is hoarding the supplies. That might be the reason why there is a surge in rice prices,” he said.

The Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM) rejected the claim that traders and importers are behind rising rice prices and warned people not to speculate.

In a separate interview with dzBB, PRISM Convenor Rowena Sadicon said there are many factors that could influence prices, including the import ban of India, impact of previous typhoons, rising prices of fuel, and the strong dollar.

''The stakeholders can see real-time data from the government and from our private stakeholders the rice inventory. They can use this as a reference for their projection on how much unhusked rice they are going to buy and how much rice they will purchase. They do not have to guess because it would be hard to base a decision on speculation. We have to take a look at the data,” Sadicon said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS