DTI: No price increase on basic goods until yearend

MANILA, Philippines — Prices of basic goods are expected to remain stable until the end of the year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“For the prices for basic necessities, (there will be) no price increase until the end of the year,” Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said during a Palace briefing yesterday.

Basic necessities include canned fish, locally manufactured instant noodles, bottled water, bread, processed milk, coffee, candles, laundry soap, detergent and salt.

As for the prices of Noche Buena products or those used as part of the Christmas celebration, Roque said more than 50 percent will remain the same as last year.

“For the others, they increased but less than five percent. So that will be steady until the end of the year,” she said.

Earlier this month, the DTI released the price guide for Noche Buena items covering 236 shelf-keeping units (SKUs) across the following categories: ham, queso de bola, fruit cocktail, cheese, sandwich spread, all-purpose cream, mayonnaise, pasta noodles, elbow and salad macaroni, tomato and spaghetti sauce.

Of the 236 SKUs, over 100 posted price increases covering select brands across all categories.

Roque said the price increases were due to the higher costs of imported products.

“There was no price increase since last year. Some imported products’ [prices] have already increased so they (manufacturers) decided to request if they could increase,” she said.

By keeping the price increases at less than five percent, she said consumers “will have, of course, a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.”

The price guide also showed that 121 SKUs like certain brands of ham, fruit cocktail, queso de bola, sandwich spread, cheese, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce and all-purpose cream remained the same.