The inflation rate, or the rate of increase in prices of goods and services, inched up to 3.8 percent in April, as rice prices declined after a three-month surge, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday, May 7.
This figure was a bit higher than the 3.7 percent recorded previously but lower than the 6.6 percent in April 2023. It is also still within the range of 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent target band for this year.
Food prices remained to impact the headline inflation, moving faster to 6 percent from 5.6 percent in March as prompted by increases in vegetables such as onions.
Rice inflation, on the other hand, slowed down to 23.9 percent from 24.4 percent and contributed 46.2 percent to the overall inflation.
PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa attributed the decline to the decrease in world prices last February and March, but noted that it may still be elevated in the coming months due to the low base effect seen last year.
“Depende sa production, local production, ano naman yung ating supply from the world market, kung ito ay continuously na bababa,” Mapa said.
[Depending on production, local production, supply from the world market, if it continuously decreases]
Prices of three sub-rice commodities, namely regular milled, well milled, and special, mostly dwindled during the month, based on the PSA tracker.
The cost of regular milled rice slightly increased to P51.25 price per kilo nationwide, compared to the P51 recorded in the previous month.
An average kilogram price of well-milled rice cost P56.42 in April, lower than P56.44 recorded earlier while special rice also declined to P64.68 per kilogram from P64.75.
Transport prices also surged during the month amid faster inflation rates seen in gasoline and diesel which rose to 3.3 percent and 4.2 percent from 0.8 percent and -0.1 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the inflation in Metro Manila slowed to 2.8 percent from 3.3 percent recorded in March.
The downward rate was attributed to electricity which declined to a negative 3.1 percent from the 4.3 percent recorded in the previous month.
In contrast, the inflation rate in areas outside Metro Manila quickened to 4.1 percent from 3.8 percent as prompted by higher vegetable and gasoline costs.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said it will continue “taking comprehensive measures to ensure food security amid geopolitical concerns and weather patterns worsened by climate change.”
“The government’s major strategies aim to increase productivity, build the resilience of the agriculture sector, and improve the efficiency of food systems,” Balisacan added.