By Othel V. Campos
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reminds both retailers and consumers that prices of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) listed in the most recent Suggested Retail Price (SRP) bulletin published on February 2023 remain valid and in force until a new bulletin is published by the agency.
The DTI, as mandated by Republic Act No. 7581 or the Price Act, as amended, issues the SRP Bulletin of BNPCs under its jurisdiction for the information and guidance of manufacturers, distributors, and consumers.
“Following the request of some manufacturers for price increase citing various reasons, the DTI continues to study these requests for validation and comparison with international prices. And of course, we need to balance the interest of different sectors, we must ensure that Filipino families will have access to affordable BNPCs,” Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said.
Meanwhile, DTI Consumer Protection Group (CPG) chief Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said they continue to assess the requests for price increases by the manufacturers.
“We carefully review the documents provided by the manufacturers as we have our own study and reliable references on the global prices of raw materials that allows us to determine the reasonableness of the requests,” Castelo said.
While there have been movements in prices based on the recent SRP Bulletin in February 2023, the DTI still gets requests for price increases for canned sardines, coffee, salt, instant noodles and canned meat.
“The DTI is in constant communication with BNPC manufacturers to ensure reasonable prices and stable supply of commodities,” Castelo said.
The DTI also keeps a close watch over the movements in prices of raw materials and continues to regularly monitor the price and supply of basic goods in the market to safeguard consumers from profiteering.