With the price of canned sardines also up in the markets, impoverished folk in Central Luzon may yet find an unhealthy viand alternative in the only product whose price has gone down in the last three months in the region: patis or fish sauce.
The latest price monitoring report of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Central Luzon showed that the prices of major food commodities have gone up by one to as much as 17 percent compared to price levels three months ago.
The report, furnished by Joe Dizon of the regional DTI’s consumer welfare and business regulation division, confirmed estimates of the National Statistics Office (NSO) that the inflation rate for food, beverage and tobacco rose to 17.8 percent in July from 16.5 percent in June, while the figure for clothing rose to 4.5 percent from 4.2 percent in the provinces.
The NSO earlier said that inflation rate actually slowed down in the National Capital Region (NCR) but everywhere else, the prices of basic commodities jacked up.
The DTI report was based on monitored prices of various brands of manufactured food items as well as cement in wet markets, groceries and supermarkets in Central Luzon. It compared the latest figures to price levels in May this year.
Among the food items monitored, only the prices of all brands of patis or fish sauce in 325 ml. bottles went down by one to as much as 13 percent in the region. Patis is a salty sauce made from fermented fish and is common in Filipino households.
Of the four major brands of patis noted by the DTI, the lowest priced was Payless which sold at P10.80, down from P12.40 three months ago.
Heavens forbid that families resort to patis as viand. They’d end up in need of dialysis in a short time.
Even the cost 155-gram canned sardine brands, also a poor’s involuntary favorite, has gone up by three to five percent, the lowest being P10.70 each. This, amid reports that their prices went up again yesterday by another one peso in local markets.
Canned sardines have been regarded as a staple for the poorest families because they cost much lower than other canned foods. They don’t even have to be cooked, so families save on gas.
Instant noodles in 55-gram packs are also regarded by poor folk similarly, but their prices, too, have gone up by three to seven percent in Central Luzon.
The DTI report noted, however, that the price of one brand of instant noodles, Payless, went down by as much as eight percent, selling only at P5.25 per pack.
The current wage rates in the region is P287 per day for those working in firms with assets of more than P30 million and P279.50 for workers in firms with less assets.
In agriculture, plantation workers get P257, while non-plantation workers get P241. Workers in hospitals with more than 20 beds are paid P278 daily, while those in hospitals with less than 20 beds get P263.
With these wage levels, many folk in the region are reportedly burdened by the rise in the cost of food items.
The DTI report noted that the prices of processed milk in the region also went up. Condensed milk in 300 to 370 ml. cans rose by one to seven percent, although the increase in price of coffee "refills" in 25 to 50 gram packs was not as significant with two percent jack up.
Buying bread loaf weighing 400 to 600 grams would also mean paying some three percent more than their recent price levels, the DTI said, as it noted that the cost of hard flour in 25-kilo bags also went up by as much as three percent.
The price of soft flour, however, was noted to have gone down by as much as six percent per 25-kilo bags.
Even the cost of washing dirty clothes now costs more, as the price of laundry soap in 400 to 480 gram packs, has risen by as much as four percent, the DTI also noted.
The DTI report also said that canned pork such as luncheon meat and meat loaf in 165 to 397-gram cans, now cost higher by one to 17 percent, while the price of corned beef and beef loaf in 150 to 175-gram cans also increased by five to seven percent.
Vinegar brands in 350 ml. bottles could be bought at prices two to five percent higher, but no increase in price was noted among soy sauce brands.
The DTI report also indicated some four to seven percent increase in the price of cement, but noted that the price of 40 kilos one brand went down by two percent from P180 to P176.50.
As commodity prices continue to escalate, the country’s inflation rate hit a near 17-year high of 12.2 percent in July, beating central bank and market expectations and setting the stage for a third straight interest rate hike later this month.
July’s rate was above the 11.2-percent to 12-percent forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and "was the highest since December 1991" when the rate topped 13.2 percent, the NSO said.
Inflation in June was 11.4 percent, bringing the average rate for the past seven months to 8.3 percent, according to data released by the NSO.
Except for fuel, light and water the rates for all commodity groups increased during the period, the government statistics office said.
