8 commodities push down food inflation to 0.1% in March

Guimaras’ year-on-year inflation on food slipped to 0.1 percent in March 2021, slower than the 2.0 percent inflation in February 2021 pushdown due to slower annual increment in the prices of eight food commodity items.

 

Annual inflation in March 2021 is much slower than the 4.2 percent recorded in March 2020 which is the second fastest annual inflation in the past 13 months.

Next to April with 5.0 percent rate, from then, inflation continuously dropped for six consecutive months until it reached its slowest rate at a deflation of -1.2 percent in October 2020.

Inflation again picked up to 0.4 and 0.5 percent in November and December, respectively and again deflated to -0.5 percent in January 2021 before jumping to 2 percent in February and finally slid to 0.1 percent in March 2021. (See Figure 1)

Slower pace in the annual rate of change on food in March 2021 were noted among the following food items:

-Vegetables with 1.9 percent inflation from 10.4 percent in February 2021

-Food Products N.E.C. with 3.1 percent from 5.3 percent

-Bread and cereals at -6.0 percent from -4.1 percent

-Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate and Confectionery at -1.1 percent from 0.5 percent;

-Meat at 6.1 percent from 7.7 percent

-Milk, cheese and eggs at 3.9 from 5.0 percent

-Oils and fats at 13.3 percent from 14.8 percent; and

-Fruits at 0.5 percent from 1.9 percent.

Among the food groups, only fish increased in prices with 5.7 percent in March 2021, faster than the 5.3 percent in February 2021 annual rate.

Inflation on Non-Alcoholic Beverages, however, recorded an annual rate of change of 2.2 percent in March 2021, slower than the recorded rate of change in February 2021 at 2.6 percent.

Moreover, the month-on-month rate of change on Food and non-alcoholic beverage in March 2021 relative to the February 2021 inflation at 3.1 percent slowed to -0.8 percent due to the decrease in the prices of Food at -0.9 percent brought by the following commodity items:

-Bread and cereal at 0.8% from 3.5% in February 2021

-Meat at -1.3 from 5.3%

-Fish at 0.4% from 4.0%

-Milk, cheese and eggs at -0.1% from 0.3%;

-Oils and fats at -0.4% from 1.2%

-Fruits at -1.1% from 1.5%

-Vegetables at -9.0% from 1.2%

-Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate, and Confectionery at -1.4% from 1.4%; and

-Food Products N.E.C. at -3.0% from 1.3%

Among the food groups, only fish and bread and cereals increased in prices in March 2021 relative to the prices a month ago with 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, while the rest of the food commodity items slowed down. (See Table 2)

Across provinces of Western Visayas Region, all provinces recorded deflation on Food and Non-Alcoholic beverages: Iloilo posted -2.1 percent; Antique (-1.7%); Capiz (-1.0%); Aklan and Guimaras (-0.8%) each; and Negros Occidental (-0.4%).

On Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, however, Guimaras recorded the highest inflation at 3.4 percent followed by Iloilo and Capiz with 1.9 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively while the three other provinces showed no monthly price change in March 2021 relative to February 2021 prices.