Manila, Jan. 8 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday assured there will be no upward trend in the retail prices of imported and local rice amid the lean months in the country.

In a press conference, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said supply and prices will remain stable as the government has given the green light to resume rice importation following a good rice harvest during the four-month import ban.

"Wala namang inaasahang mataasang pagtaas kasi naging maganda naman 'yung (There's no expected high uptick of prices because we have a good) production," he said.

With a good local palay (unhusked rice) harvest in 2025, the country's overall rice imports settled at 3.37 million metric tons (MMT) with the ...