Prices of noche buena items will rise in the coming holidays, which is caused by the high cost of important and local materials, packaging, and overhead charges.
Most food items considered Christmas staples by Filipinos have been seeing price increases ahead of the holiday season, with some pasta and spaghetti sauce items going up by more than 10 percent.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to release today its noche buena price guide, which includes 223 shelf-keeping units (SKUs) like ham, fruit cocktails, pasta or spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce, and queso de bola, Business World reported.
DTI said that the suggested retail prices (SRP) of 195 out of 223 SKUs of noche buena items will increase by 1 – 10 percent wherein the brand of these items was not released.
But 94 food products will see price increase of more than 10 percent; for 51 items price hikes would be 6 - 10 percent, while for another 50 items by 1 - 5 percent.
Eight SKUs had no price changes, while two had lower prices. The price guide now includes 18 new SKUs.
“The prices of raw materials have gone up and we need to recognize that. (The price increases are) those (items) with heavy imported components and those that require heavy transportation demand.” Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said.
Meanwhile, DTI Consumer Protection and Advocacy Bureau (CPAB) said that the agency does not regulate or approve prices of noche buena products, unlike basic necessities and prime commodities included in the SRP bulletin as mandated by the Price Act.
“Also, retailers may have different prices because of the non-regulation of the prices of the noche buena products — but this is where free market competition comes into play.” CPAB said.
Additionally, price adjustments may have already been made by manufacturers even before the guide is released.
The CPAB surveyed the price guide details from noche buena product manufacturers. The manufacturers asserted that these are their prices until the end of the year.
New prices
Ham is now priced between P163 and P892.50, up from P158 to P862.50 a year ago. At least 13 ham products saw a 1 - 5 percent price increase, with seven rising by 6 - 10 percent. Three ham products saw price increases of more than 10 percent, while four saw no change and two saw price decreases.
Prices of most spaghetti, elbow macaroni, salad macaroni, and spaghetti sauce products went up by more than 10 percent. A pack of spaghetti pasta now costs between P25.50 and P111, up by P4.50 – P27 from a year ago. elbow and salad macaroni prices increased by P4 – P27.75 to P23 – P119 and P39 – P117, respectively. Spaghetti sauce now costs P23.55 - P95.50, an increase of P1.55 - P14.93, while tomato sauce costs P17.25 - P92.25, an increase of P1.20 - P18.50.
Fruit cocktails now cost P56 - P288, up 50 centavos to P33.05 from the previous year, while queso de bola has risen by P10 - P56.65 to P199.50 - P513.75.
DTI continues to discuss with manufacturers how to ensure that consumers would still be able to access low-cost products in the market, especially with the holidays nearing so soon.
Meanwhile, the DTI-CPAB confirmed that it currently has price increase notices from 15 manufacturers for 55 SKUs (25 food and 29 non-food) included in the SRP bulletin. It is still assessing price increase petitions.
The increase is mostly due to the high cost of important and local materials, as well as packaging materials and overhead charges.
Inflation
Rising commodity prices are expected to fuel inflation for the rest of the year. Headline inflation rose to 7.7 percent in October, the seventh consecutive month that it exceeded the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) target range of 2 - 4 percent.
Inflation averaged 5.4 percent over the 10-month period, remaining below the BSP's revised average forecast of 5.8 percent.
DTI is boosting its market monitoring efforts under a new program called “Ikot Palengke Program Tamang Timbang, Tamang Presyo Para sa Mamimiling Pilipino.”
The program aims to strengthen consumer protection by establishing the foundation for recommendations on price ceilings for specific products.
Tags: #nochebuena; #pricehike; #holidays, #DTI