The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has reported a decrease in the food inflation rate for Guimaras as the region starts 2024.
According to the latest data, the food inflation rate in December 2023 was recorded at 6.3%, a decrease from 7.3% in the previous month and significantly lower than the 9.2% observed in January 2023.
Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said the decline in food inflation is primarily attributed to significant decreases in the price indices for vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, which saw a -10.9% change during the month, contributing to a 45.0% share of the overall food inflation. This marks a substantial improvement from -5.1% in December 2023.
The PSA’s detailed analysis reveals that cereals and cereal products, meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, and fish and other seafood are the top contributors to Guimaras’s food inflation rate in January 2024, Losare added.
Cereals and cereal products, in particular, have seen an increase in inflation rate, from 14.6% in December 2023 to 15.1% in January 2024, making up 71.9% of the food inflation contribution.
Despite the overall decline, some food groups experienced faster price increases from December 2023 to January 2024. Notably, sugar confectionery and desserts showed a less negative inflation rate, moving from -5.7% to -1.4%.
Other items contributing to the slowdown in food inflation include meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, with a decrease to 9.8% in January 2024 from 12.5% the previous month. Fish and other seafood also saw a slight decrease in inflation, from 3.9% in December 2023 to 3.6% in January 2024.
Milk, other dairy products, and eggs; oils and fats; fruits and nuts; and ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified (n.e.c.) also showed slower inflation rates during the month, contributing to the overall easing of food inflation in Guimaras.
Meanwhile, data also revealed that a faster price increase from December 2023 to January 2024
was recorded in Cereals and cereal products (14.6% to 15.1%) and Sugar, confectionery, and
desserts (-5.7% to -1.4%).
“Food groups with the highest contribution to the food inflation in January 2024 were Cereals and cereal products, with 71.9 percent contribution or 4.53 percentage points; Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, with 16.0 percent contribution or 1.01 percentage points; and Fish and other seafood, with 10.0 percent contribution translating to 0.63 percentage points,” Losare said.
