The interventions being carried out by the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. are taking effect, as shown by the recent September 2024 inflation data, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Saturday.
DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa cited the drop in the September 2024 inflation data or food inflation.
According to De Mesa, the main driver in the slide in food inflation was the drop in rice prices.
“At ang maganda rito, nitong mga nakalipas na buwan, iyong inflation dahil sa bigas ay consistently nasa 25/27 percent na level so ngayon na nasa single digit level na siya at 5.7 percent,” De Mesa told the weekly news forum in Quezon City.
“At ganoon din, sabay din na bumababa iyong presyo ng iba pang pagkain kaya makita natin sa NCR and both… kasama na rin iyong areas outside of NCR ay malaki iyong binaba ng presyo ng bigas. Ito ay dahilan na rin sa maraming factors,” he said.
Among the factors include the reduction in rice import tariff from 35 percent to 15 percent.
This is in addition to the government’s “Rice for All” program at the Kadiwa outlets that offers PhP29 a kilo – or PhP5 lower than the prevailing market prices. The cheaper grain is being sold by the government to the vulnerable sectors of society.
“And of course, iyong mga iba pang programa na nailatag ng ating pamahalaan – these are the combined effects kaya mas mababa,” De Mesa said. |PND
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