Inflation rate accelerated to a 22-month high of 3.5 percent in December from 3.3 percent in November and 2.5 percent a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Tuesday.
The National Economic and Development Authority said that despite the upside risks, the full-year inflation rate in 2020 settled below the midpoint of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ target range for the year.
Average inflation for 2020 settled at 2.6 percent, slightly higher than the 2.5 percent in 2019 and well within the 2 percent to 4 percent inflation target range of the government for the year.
“Even with the low inflation environment, there is still a need to improve supply chain efficiency to ensure that prices of essential goods and services remain stable,” said acting Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.
The faster inflation in December was driven by the increase in the price indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and restaurant & miscellaneous goods and services. Among the sub-groups, prices of vegetables and meat significantly increased from the previous month.
The faster inflation in agricultural products could be traced to lower production following the damage caused by previous typhoons, NEDA said.
Meat inflation also inched up for the third consecutive month owing to the decline in domestic swine production due to the African Swine Fever.
Chua emphasized the need to establish processing facilities that will prevent wastage and spoilage of farm harvests, such as the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center in the Cordillera region where a large part of the country’s supply of vegetables is sourced.