Inflation in August 2023 climbed to 5.3 percent from 4.7 percent in July on higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Tuesday.
“This development is mainly due to higher inflation in food prices, particularly rice and vegetables,” the National Economic and Development Authority said.
National statistician and civil registrar-general Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing the August inflation was slower than 6.3 percent recorded a year ago.
This brought the average in the first eight months to 6.6 percent, above the 2023 target range of 2 percent to 4 percent.
“The uptrend in the overall inflation in August 2023 was primarily influenced by the higher year-on-year increase in the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 8.1 percent during the month from 6.3 percent in the previous month,” Mapa said.
“The annual growth of transport at 0.2 percent during the month, from an annual decline of -4.7 percent in July 2023, also contributed to the uptrend. In addition, the recreation, sport and culture index recorded an annual increase of 4.9 percent during the month from 4.7 percent in July 2023,” he said.
The National Economic and Development Authority assured the public the government would strengthen measures to ensure food security, protect consumers and provide assistance to farmers.
“Despite the ongoing challenges we encounter, such as severe weather conditions and trade limitations imposed by other nations, our objective remains to achieve an inflation rate between 2 and 4 percent by the year’s end,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
Rice inflation increased to 8.7 percent in August from 4.2 percent in July. The expected reduction in rice production due to El Niño and the export ban recently imposed by major rice exporters such as India and Myanmar led to higher international rice prices, according to NEDA.
“In addition, the alleged hoarding incidents, artificial shortage and speculative business decisions of market players may have put further upward pressure on the domestic retail price of rice. Vegetable inflation, on the other hand, rose to 31.9 percent from 21.8 percent due to production losses from the enhanced monsoon rains and Super Typhoon Egay,” Balisacan said.
The economic chief underscored the importance of providing comprehensive assistance to rice and vegetable farmers to help them increase production.
This is in response to the adverse effects of continuous rains last month and the anticipated impact of El Niño on domestic rice and vegetable production in the first quarter of 2024, he said.
He said the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority augment support to farmers in the drying and milling palay in the upcoming harvest season.
NEDA also recommended hastening the implementation of programs to facilitate the swift recovery of production in typhoon-affected areas.
Balisacan said the government needs to accelerate the Food Stamp Program rollout. The FSP is one of the priority programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development to provide P3,000 worth of food credits to target beneficiaries each month for six months.
Other government support to consumers includes the continued implementation of Kadiwa stores, targeted cash transfers and the Department of Trade and Industry’s Diskwento Caravan, he said.
Balisacan called for a review of the existing tariff levels on rice to help lower the cost of this staple for consumers while considering the impact of this intervention on local producers.
“To partially counterbalance the rise in global prices and alleviate the impact on consumers and households, we may implement a temporary and calibrated reduction in tariffs,” he said.
He said to ensure the availability of affordable food and reduce transport costs, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently approved the three-year food logistics action agenda of the DTI. The program aims to ensure available, accessible, and affordable food for consumers by upgrading food terminals and developing an efficient logistics system.
“Using policy levers on multiple fronts, we are confident in our ability to overcome the obstacles arising from domestic and international factors as we safeguard the interests of Filipino consumers and producers,” Balisacan said.