A bigasan buys rice by the sack from millers and traders and sells it by the kilo or by the sack to households, carinderias and sari-sari stores. Most start with a small stall or store front, two scales and a week's stock of three or four kinds of rice. Margins per kilo are small, so the money is made on volume, fast stock turnover and buying at the right price.

This guide walks through what it takes to start a rice store in the Philippines: the capital, the monthly costs, the permits and the first 90 days. The peso figures are sample estimates for a small rice store in Cebu as of October 2026; get your own quotes before you decide.

How much capital you need

The sample comes to about ₱193,500 including one month of fixed costs kept as a cash buffer. It splits into equipment and fixtures (₱26,900), store setup (₱24,000), permits and deposits (₱29,400), opening stock (₱82,000), launch (₱2,500) and working capital (₱28,700). Other ways to start: rice corner in a sari-sari store at ₱50,000–₱100,000 and rice dealer supplying stores and eateries at ₱800,000 and up.

Monthly costs and break-even

Fixed costs in the sample are ₱28,700 a month; the biggest are helper wages (₱15,600), rent (₱7,000) and SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG (₱2,200). Each kilo sold earns about ₱4 after its own costs, so the break-even is 257 kilos a day, and the startup capital takes about 12 months to come back at full sales.

Permits and registration

Register the business name with DTI (or SEC or CDA), then get the barangay business clearance, the Mayor's permit through the city or municipal BPLO, and BIR registration; register with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG once you hire. A rice store also needs: licence to operate as a rice business (ask), price tags and rice labels and weighing scale check and seal. Requirements and fees differ by city, so ask each office for its checklist first. DTI Negosyo Centers help for free.

Where to set up

  • Inside or beside a public market
  • A dense residential street with few rice stores
  • Near carinderias and eateries you can supply
  • Along a road where buyers can stop to load sacks

Mistakes to avoid

  • Margins too thin to cover costs. Keep rent and staff modest, track the cost per kilo, and grow volume with regular buyers.
  • Rice prices drop after you stock up. Buy one to two weeks of stock at a time, and follow rice price news.
  • Pests or moisture ruin sacks. Pallets, sealed bins, rat traps, and first-in, first-out stock.
  • Lista credit that piles up. Set a limit per buyer and collect on paydays.

Plan it with the starter kit

The Rice Store (Bigasan) · Negosyo Starter Kit has every worksheet behind this guide in a 26-page PDF, plus an Excel calculator: type in your own quotes and it works out your capital, break-even, profit and payback month. It costs ₱349 and downloads right after payment.