The rate of increase in consumer prices accelerated further in October, hitting its fastest pace in nearly 14 years, on the back of higher food costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

On Friday, Nov. 4, the PSA reported that headline inflation clocked in at 7.7 percent last month, its highest since December 2008 or at the height of the global financial crisis. It was also significantly faster than the 6.9 percent seen in September.

Inflation also accelerated from 4.0 percent in the same month in 2021, and settled at the upper-end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast range of 7.1 percent to 7.9 percent. Among the top contributors to inflation were meat, fish, and vegetable; electricity, gas, and other fuels; operation of personal transport; food and beverage services; passenger transport service; and housing rentals.

During the month, sustained price uptrends were seen in commodity groups, particularly food and non-alcoholic beverages, which increased to 9.4 percent from 7.4 percent in the previous month. In the first 10-months of the year, inflation averaged at 5.4 percent, within the Marcos administration’s assumption of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent for the whole 2022, but well above the government’s target band of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the acceleration in consumer prices was the result of price pressures overseas, like the Russia-Ukraine war and lockdowns imposed in parts of China, which disrupted global supply chains.

Balisacan also cited the lingering aftermath of recent typhoons, including Typhoon Karding that struck the country in late September. “Our immediate priority is to continue supporting the most vulnerable sectors of the economy, hence, the cash transfers and fuel discounts will continue,” Balisacan said in a statement.

“This will alleviate the effects of the sustained increase in commodity prices as a result of global headwinds as well as the recent typhoons which damaged our domestic production and disrupted food supply,” he added.

Noting that the country incurs huge losses every year due to weather disturbances and other disasters, Balisacan said the medium-term strategy is to invest in innovations and appropriate technologies and systems to make the economy and communities resilient. He also cited the need to improve the governance structure for managing water resources and, at the same time, mitigating the risks from water-induced disasters.

“We would like to assure the public that the Philippine government is closely monitoring the inflation and possible inflation pressures,” Balisacan said.

“We continue to prioritize and proactively manage these issues by providing immediate assistance and enabling timely imports to augment domestic food production, while building the resilience of families, communities and the economy,” he concluded.

economy,” he concluded.