The Department of Trade and Industry announced on Tuesday that it has approved the price hike request by manufacturers of basic commodities after being stuck for nearly 2 years.
According to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, the approved price increase, equivalent to up to P1, is playing at up to 7 percent.
Here are the high prices for some basic goods:
Coffee – 3 percent or P0.15 per pack
Milk – 1 percent or P0.50 per pack
Sardines – 3 percent or P0.50 to P0.75 per can
Canned meat – 4 to 7 percent or P0.75 to P1 per can
Instant noodles – 3 to 4 percent or P0.25 to P0.40 per pack
Lopez stressed that the price of raw materials increased so the manufacturers’ request was approved.
Meanwhile, the Laban Konsyumer group appealed to supermarket owners not to implement the price hike to protect consumers from the extra cost.
But according to Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association president Steven Cua, they cannot stop the price hike because the manufacturer is implementing it.
Manufacturers also have a legitimate justification for adjusting their prices, Cua said.
The country’s headline inflation rate slowed down to 4.1 percent in June 2021, after recording an inflation of 4.5 percent for three consecutive months. This brings the Philippines’ average inflation for the first semester of 2021 at 4.4 percent. In June 2020, inflation was registered at 2.5 percent.
Price increase among basic commodities
The slower pace in the inflation in June 2021 was primarily due to the lower annual rate of increase in the transport index at 9.6 percent, from 16.5 percent in May 2021. Moreover, inflation slowed down in the indices of the following commodity groups:
- Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 11.2 percent;
- Clothing and footwear, 1.6 percent;
- Health, 2.9 percent; and
- Communication, 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, inflation rates were higher in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 4.7 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 2.4 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services, 3.9 percent.
The rest of the commodity groups retained their respective previous month’s annual growth rates.
Excluding selected food and energy items, core inflation, likewise, decelerated to 3.0 percent in June 2021, from 3.3 percent in May 2021. In June 2020, core inflation was posted at 3.0 percent.
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