THE average farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) reached the level of P19.06 kilo during the second week of May, significantly higher than its level in the previous week and in the same period in 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

In its latest price monitoring report, PSA said the buying price of palay at the farmgate level went up from the previous week’s P18.81 per kilo. Year-on-year, it was higher by 4.1 percent from P18.30 per kilo.