From an average of 4.75% for the first six months of 2024, the inflation rate in Catanduanes reached a high of 5.6% last month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported last week.
Since January, the inflation rate has been steadily climbing from 4.2% to 4.6% in February, 4.9% in March, and 5.3% in April before slowing down to 4.5% in May and then rising again to 5% in June, the report said.
In a press conference at the PSA Catanduanes Provincial Statistical Office last Aug. 21, 2024, Chief Statistical Specialist Anavi F. Camacho attributed the uptick in the overall inflation rate this July 2024 is mainly due to price increases in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages sector which contributed 65.3% to the inflation rise.
Among the basic food items that saw price hikes were Cereals and Cereal Products (20.8%); Meat and Others (5.1%); Fish and Other Seafood (0.5%); and Milk, Other Dairy Products and Eggs (7.3%).
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels sector had a share of 18.5%, caused mostly by more expensive cooking fuel (22.4%) and electricity.
On the other hand, the Transport sector contributed another 9.2%, the report stated, contributed mainly by successive price increases in gasoline (17.4%), diesel (19.5%) and bicycles (36.5%).
Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods and Services sector added another 5.5% share in the inflation rate, due to price hikes in travel goods and articles for babies (17.1%); other personal care appliances, appliances and products (6.8%); and purchase of beauty products (6.6%).
CSS Camacho said the top five (5) contributors to last month’s inflation high were rice, which had an inflation rate of 31.3%; gasoline, with 17.4%; restaurants, café and the like (4.8%); Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with 22.4%; and fresh, chilled or frozen meat of pigs, with 6.4%.
Lower inflation was recorded for Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (3.7%); Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (4.7%); Information and Communication (0.2%); and Recreation, Sports and Culture (4.1%).
There was constant inflation in Education Services, Restaurant and Accommodation Services and Financial Services, the PSA stated.
Among the six Bicol provinces, Catanduanes posted the second highest inflation for July 2024 behind Masbate’s 6.0%, while Sorsogon had the lowest at 1.1%.
Aside from Catanduanes and Masbate, the inflation rate also went up in Albay (4.4%), Camarines Sur (4.8%), while it dipped in Camarines Sur (4.8%) and Sorsogon.
For the Bottom 30% Income Households, the inflation rate was recorded at a high 6.5%, compared to the 4.3% computed for July 2023.
During the open forum, CSS Camacho admitted that the high inflation rate has a negative impact on the local economy, particularly among the low-income households.
In 2023, a family with five members in Catanduanes needed at least P13,263 per month to meet their
minimum basic food and non-food needs in 2023.
This is based on the 23.5% poverty incidence among families, which 14,000 poor families or 85,000 individuals.
For the Food threshold in 2023, the same family of five needed at least P9,257 in a month to meet the basic food needs.
This 4.1 percent subsistence rate meant that at least 4,000 families or 26,000 persons had income below the food threshold.
The PSA official urged local government units to push food production, especially among poor households, for their own consumption and increase availability on the market, thus lowering prices.
According to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), low-income households are vulnerable to sudden rises in food prices because food commodities make up a relatively large portion of their total expenditure.