Prices of canned goods including corned beef, sardines, and luncheon meat are expected to rise by six to seven percent by the end of the month on the back of higher tin costs.
“There will be two increases in the prices of canned food products this month because some manufacturers opted to adjust their prices twice instead of implementing one big price increase,” Henry Tañedo, chairman and president of Tin Can Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, told The STAR in a telephone interview.
He said the cost of tin plates is rising steadily due to the surge in demand in China ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
“HRCs (hot rolled coils) are very expensive because of the great demand produced by the Beijing Olympics,” Tañedo said.
“We cannot do anything. Tin plates are all imported and the peso has already dropped almost 5 percent,” Tañedo noted.
“We really tried not to increase our prices but because of several factors it has become impossible,” he said.
The prices of tin plates have gone up by 41 percent since the beginning of the year.
The price of 202 cans, which are used for packaging sardines, is P3.40 from only P3.05 early this year.
Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya confirmed that during the first week of July, the prices of two brands of sardines went up by P0.35 to P0.40.
“Only 555 and Mega sardines adjusted the prices because the cost of tin cans went up,” Maglaya said. “The price of processed meat like corned beef and luncheon meat also increased,” she said.
Maglaya said other brands might follow. “It’s stiff competition. Some would like to wait and see.”