Bulacan, April 12 -- A farmers' group in this town has started selling rice at PHP32 per kilogram (kg), which was widely received by consumers in this town on Saturday.

Simeon Sioson, chairperson of the Lambakin Multipurpose Farmers' Cooperative, said 178 bags with 25 kg of rice each were sold out in about four hours. Sioson said their group decided to process their newly harvested palay into rice as the current farm gate price of palay has gone down to PHP14/kg.

With consumers clamoring for more cheaper rice, he said they will process their palay harvest on a daily basis until their stocks are depleted.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. recently said the country could experience lower price levels of retail rice, ranging...