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MANILA, Philippines – The ample food supply amid the COVID-19 quarantine helped bring inflation down to a three-month low of 2.4 percent year-on-year in August, the government reported Friday.
In particular, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Map said at a news conference that the rate of increase in fish and meat prices slowed last month, while vegetable prices decreased 0.9 percent. year-on-year.
Mapa said there was a sufficient supply of fish and vegetables, while rice prices across the country posted the 16th consecutive month of deflation even as the price of the Philippine staple rose 0.6 percent year-on-year in Metro Manila.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which accounted for 36 percent of the consumer price index (CPI), posted 1.8 percent inflation in August, down from 2.4 percent in July.
Despite Metro Manila and four neighboring provinces reverting to the enhanced community quarantine modified from Aug. 4-18 following a surge in COVID-19 cases as the economy gradually opened up, Mapa said there was no shock or increase in prices, especially of food during the two-week stricter lockdown in areas that comprise half of the national economy.
However, restrictions on mass transit amid social distancing even as more workers resumed their jobs since June kept transportation inflation high in August, which at 6.3 percent year-on-year was the same rate as in July.
Mapa said the fare for tricycles rose 37.4 percent year-on-year last month, while ferry and boat fares were up 31.6 percent. Jeepney’s rate was also up 2.6 percent.
In Metro Manila, transportation inflation rose 11.9 percent year-on-year from 11 percent in July.
While the transportation sector accounted for only 8 percent of the CPI basket, strong increases in public transportation fares contributed 22.5 percent to the spike in headline inflation in August.
On a monthly basis, August prices decreased 0.2 percent compared to July levels, as food was cheaper by 0.5 percent.
With poor families spending most of their budgets to buy food, the inflation rate among households with the lowest 30 percent income also fell to a five-month low of 2.7 percent year-on-year last month.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that food inflation among the poor fell to 1.1 percent in August from 1.5 percent last July, as rice, corn, vegetables, As well as the sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery products they bought registered year-on-year prices. drops.
In a statement, the Acting Secretary for Socioeconomic Planning, Karl Kendrick T. Chua, attributed the continuing average inflation at the end of August of 2.5 percent, within the government’s target band of 2 to 4 percent, to “unhindered movement of food and other basic products throughout the country. such as the benefits of the rice tariffication law, ensuring ample supply. “
Going forward, Chua said that “as we continuously implement different levels of community quarantines and localized closures in the country, we need the government and the private sector to take advantage of local agricultural products and maximize the use of digital technologies to ensure stability in Supply Chain”. . “
Investments in cold rooms and innovations in food packaging and processing should also be increased, along with boosting agricultural production, both in rural and urban areas, through the government’s ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program, he added. Chua, who heads the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority.
However, Neda’s boss pointed out a possible drag on food production due to the wet La Niña season that is expected to be felt later this month or next, hence “the need for preventive preparations on supporting the production, crop insurance and other recovery programs. “
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