Prices of rice, other food items drop in early May
Most prices of basic commodities experienced a decline during the first days of May, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
A kilogram of well milled rice would cost a consumer P56.52 during the period, which was lower than the P56.98 and P57.04 recorded for the commodity previously.
For a medium-sized chicken egg, its price also dropped to P8.51 per piece from the P8.58 in the second phase of April and P8.68 in the first phase.
Likewise, the price of galunggong also had a decline which stood at P195.41 per kilogram, lower than P197.29 and P204.49 in April.
Further, a kilogram of mango costed only P145.08 during the first week of May from P151.48 and P157.63 last month.
Meanwhile, two commodities experienced price increases such as baguio beans which rose to P124.13 and hawaiian ginger at P146.53 per kilogram from P108.26 and P136.87, respectively.
The country's inflation rate went up to 3.8 percent in April from 3.7 percent in March 2024 as prompted by increase in food prices.
Food inflation rose to 6.3 percent from the previous month’s 5.7 percent, which was attributed to vegetables (up by 4.3 percent), fish (0.4 percent), and ready-made products (4.8 percent).
Rice, on the other hand, recorded a lower inflation rate of 23.9 percent in April, down from 24.4 percent in March, yet it remains the primary driver of inflation, accounting for 2.1 percentage points.
Even with higher prices, the agriculture sector still posted a 0.4 percent growth despite the impacts of El Niño mainly driven by higher poultry and egg production.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said that it will continue to implement a whole-of-government approach to ease the impact of El Niño while preparing for La Niña.
"We are collaborating with distribution utilities to manage the increasing electricity demand and working with private water concessionaires to address leaks and wastage, ensuring water security," Balisacan said.