President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday expressed optimism that rice prices would ease further, consistent with the current price trend of the staple in Southeast Asia.
“Doon sa rice mukha namang sumusunod dun sa projections natin sa rice prices. And it seems to be consistent again with the same experience of other ASEAN countries like Thailand and Vietnam,” President Marcos said during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang on managing food and non-food inflation.
“So, I think as the time goes on, that should improve,” he said.
Rice was the top inflation driver, contributing 1.3 percentage points to inflation. Inflation further decelerated to 14.7 percent, but prices remained elevated.
Prices of rice in Vietnam and Thailand moderated last month, as available data for September showed a decline in the prices of the staple.
The landed cost of the imported staple declined by 15 percent (around PhP7 per kilogram) as of mid-September, following the implementation of reduced tariffs under Executive Order No. 62, s. 2024.
President Marcos said the country also has to resort to sugar importation to ensure supply and stabilize prices.
The retail price of refined sugar remains elevated at 35 percent, higher than the January 2022 level, before prices spiked.
To address African Swine Fever (ASF), among the recommendations were exploring interventions to incentivize ASF-affected hog raisers, and facilitating the procurement of the remaining 450,000 doses of the ASF vaccine once stocks become available.
It was also recommended that the Department of Agriculture (DA) prioritize the provision of free doses of the ASF vaccine to smallholder swine raisers, who account for more than 70 percent of the country’s swine inventory.
Overall inflation eased from 4.4 percent in July 2024 to 3.3 percent in August 2024 due to slower food and non-food inflation, with rice being the major inflation driver.
Average inflation for the period January to August 2024 reached 3.6 percent, within the government’s target of 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent for the year.
Authorities reported that food inflation decelerated from 6.4 percent in July 2024 to 3.9 percent in August, with slower inflation in rice, meat, bread, other cereals, and ready-made food products. Deflation was recorded in fish, vegetables, and sugar.
Non-food inflation, on the other hand, eased from 3.1 percent in July 2024 to 2.9 percent in August 2024. Among the top contributors were restaurants and accommodation services, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.
Deflation in transport was driven by a decline in the cost of operating personal vehicles; gasoline and diesel posted deflation due to lower international prices as demand from the US and China weakened.
Power distributor Meralco increased its rates last August due to higher transmission costs, driven by increased charges for ancillary services. |PND
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