MANILA, Philippines - The price of instant noodles is expected to go up by three percent to five percent next month after flour millers announced they are raising their price, the Philippine Association of Supermarkets Inc. (PASI) said yesterday.
In an interview with The Star, Federico Ples, PASI secretary general said the price of flour-based commodities like noodles will be affected by the decision of the flour millers to increase their price.
The news came after bread makers said they will be implementing a P1.50 increase in the price of loaf bread and P0.75 increase for a 10-pack pandesal.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the suggested retail price (SRP) for instant noodles – chicken flavor is P6.50 per 55 gram pack and P5.70 for a P50 gram pack.
In an earlier interview, Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said that he has not received any request from any sector for any price adjustments. Favila said that the normal procedure would be to inform the government of any price increase.
“Nobody asked for our permission,” Favila insisted.
Despite the increase in the price of noodles, Ples said they have observed price reduction in a number of products. “There are a number of products that have cut prices. Some even went down by as much as 50 percent.”
However, he conceded that these products are Christmas related products because there is no more demand for these. Other food products prices that have gone down are the local ham and cheese.
Ples said that they are doing their best not to implement further increases in prices but everything is dependent on their suppliers. He said that they appealed to suppliers to keep the prices stable and delay price increases because the supply that they have were purchased using the old prices.
He reported that the price of canned goods like corned beef remain the same because there is enough supply. Also, he said that they have noticed a slow down in the demand when compared to the same period the previous year.
Ples said that this is probably because people have less money now than last year and people are looking at buying less in order to make ends meet. He said that they are hoping that demand will pick up soon in time for the election season when more money is usually circulated in the market.