Cheap Imported Rice Soothes Philippine Inflation Pangs

Philippine rice prices have retreated from last year’s record highs after the Southeast Asian nation scrapped import quotas for the first time in nearly a quarter-century. The staple grain retailed for 38.65 pesos ($0.75) per kilogram last month, down 15% from its peak in September 2018 when typhoons and pests decimated local harvests and forced government to look abroad for supply. June inflation fell to its slowest pace in two years as a result, boosting odds the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas could further slash the interest rates it hiked during the height of the rice shortage last year.