THE farmgate price of palay (unmilled rice) rose to P23.04 per kilogram last week, a 1.32-percent increase from the P22.98 posted in the first week of September and a 17.43-percent surge from the amount a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Based on PSA data, the latest amount is the highest recorded for the staple since the El Niño phenomenon caused palay production to drop in 2015. The price during the third week of September that year was P20.91.