THE Agriculture department is planning to bar rice traders and retailers from labeling their goods as imported in a bid to prevent price manipulation and bring down the cost of the staple, a Cabinet official said."After conducting a series of market visits, we now have reason to believe that some retailers and traders are intentionally confusing Filipino consumers with branded imports to justify the high prices of rice," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.Tiu Laurel also wants words like "premium" and "special" removed from labels, saying these were being used to justify high prices for imported rice."Importing rice is not a right but a privilege," he added. "If traders are unwilling to follow our regulations, we will withhold permits for rice importation."Rice prices in domestic markets remain high despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s having slashed the tariff on rice imports to 15 percent from 35 percent. Tiu Laurel has alleged that some traders and retailers were looking to profit by keeping market prices high despite lower import costs.During a visit to a market earlier this month, he found rice being sold for over P60 per kilo despite a landed cost of just around P40. The Agriculture department has said that markups should not be more than P8 per kilo.In an effort to pressure retailers to lower prices, the department has started selling P40/kilo rice under the Kadiwa Rice-for-All program in public markets.Tiu Laurel has also raised the possibility of declaring a food security emergency under the amended Rice Tariffication Law, which will allow the National Food Authority to release its buffer stocks to stabilize rice prices, and the use of the Consumer Price Act to take action against profiteers.Government corporations such as Food Terminal Inc. could be asked to import rice to compete with private importers, he said.The Bureau of Internal Revenue, meanwhile, can be tapped to audit the finances of rice traders to ensure that they are implementing proper rice pricing, Tiu Laurel said.