One of the effective ways to tame inflation is the modernization of the agriculture sector that will result in stable prices of food in the future, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said Wednesday.
Beltran, who is the chief economist of the Department of Finance, said in an economic bulletin month-on-month price change should be at most 0.3 percent a month for inflation to fall within the target range,
“Productivity programs for agriculture will ease seasonal food price increases in the future,” Beltran said.
“The Department of Agriculture has set up programs to modernize agriculture, build farm-to-market roads, develop value chains and enhance research and development,” Beltran said.
The bulletin said the general price level accelerated by nearly 0.7 percent month-on-month in December, mainly on account of fish and vegetables. Boosted by holiday demand, fish prices surged month-on-month by 5.0 percent and vegetables by 3.7 percent. Julito