At A Glance
- The Inter-Agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook (IAC-IMO) recommends extending lower tariff rates on key commodities.<br>The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the IAC-IMO proposed extending the effectivity of Executive Order (EO) No. 10 until Dec. 31, 2024.<br>EO 10 reduces tariff rates on swine meat, corn, and rice to 35 percent. However, the proposal needs to go through the Tariff Commission for approval.<br>NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the extension aims to prevent further increases in local prices amid elevated world prices.<br>Inflation rate rose to 6.1 percent in September, with rice inflation reaching a 14-year high of 17.9 percent.<br>Despite challenges, NEDA believes the target inflation rate of 2-4 percent is still achievable.<br>Economic growth of 6-7 percent is possible, but reaching 7 percent will be challenging.
The Inter-Agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook (IAC-IMO) has proposed the extension of lower tariff rates on essential commodities until Dec. 31, 2024, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said that the committee's recommendation involves extending the effectiveness of Executive Order (EO) No. 10. This order reduces the tariff rates for swine meat, corn, and rice to 35 percent.
The current tariff rates will remain in place until Dec. 31, 2023, when the order is set to expire.
“The decision is to recommend the extension of tariff rates of those three products but there is process you need to follow, it has to go through the Tariff Commission,” he said.
“While world prices are still very much elevated, we don’t want to see further increases in local prices by raising now the tariff,” Balisacan added.
In September, the inflation rate rose to 6.1 percent from 5.3 percent the previous month, driven by record-high rice inflation at 17.9 percent, the highest in 14 years.
Nevertheless, Balisacan expressed confidence that the target inflation rate of two percent to four percent can still be achieved by the end of the quarter, despite recent fare hikes for jeepneys and potential wage hike petitions outside Metro Manila.
He also stated that the country's economic growth of six percent to seven percent is still attainable, although acknowledging that reaching the seven percent mark will pose challenges.