Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual has called for a thorough review of the products or shelf keeping units (SKUs) listed in the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) Bulletin to limit the list to products that are in demand by ordinary Filipino consumers.
Pascual told reporters at the launch of the Toyota Mobility Solutions event in Taguig that the review is aimed to streamline or rationalize the list to make it more attuned to what the mass consumers are buying and the target audience of the SRP Bulletin.
He noted there are too many items listed in the SRP Bulletin with 218 SKUs. He hinted of removing the big bulk items as the target audience of the SRP Bulletin normally buys products in sachets.
For instance, Pascual said the mineral water in big containers or 5 gallon-container may be excluded already in the SRP Bulletin because the mass consumers rarely buy the big containers.
“I am looking at the situation with fresh minds, fresh eyes” he said adding there are several innovations he is looking at. Actually, he said, the review is already ongoing, initially looking into the way DTI calculates or evaluates the request for price increases.
Of the 218 SKUs in the latest DTI SRPs on basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) and school items, which took effect Friday, Aug. 12, Pascual said only 60 items or just a third of the list have increased their prices.
While some of the SKUs with increases were higher than the headline inflation rate of 6.1 percent in June this year, Pascual said it is not inflationary.
The SRP on BNPCs contains the price range of listed items that include milk, mineral water, coffee, canned sardines, canned meat, batteries, detergents, salt, and condiments.
The SRP on school items include writing pads, intermediate pads, notebooks, crayons, pencils, ballpens, and erasers. This particular SRP seeks to guide consumers on the prices of school supplies based on their brand, make and volume. Prices may also differ as to where they are bought. For instance, school items bought in Divisoria will be cheaper than those being sold in bookstores in malls.