Five commodity groups push Guimaras inflation to 5.8 pct

Guimaras’ headline inflation rate accelerated further to 5.8 percent in January 2022, from 4.7 percent in December 2021 on the backs of five commodity groups which exhibited faster rates of change.

The latest inflation figures are based on the Survey on Retail Prices of Commodities that was rebased to 2018 and generated by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“The data showed that January 2022 was the fastest annual rate recorded since January 2021,” Provincial Statistics Officer (PSO) Nelida B. Losare of PSA-Guimaras said.

Losare explained that the upsurge in overall inflation was mainly due to the faster annual increases in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 9.4 percent; Recreation, Sport and Culture (9.3); and Health (6.2).

The annual rates of price change were slower in the indices of Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services at 5.4 percent; Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (3.7); Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (3.3); and Clothing and Footwear (1.3%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels (0.6%); and Transport (0.5%).

Only four commodity groups retained their December 2021 rates: Information and Communication at –1.3; Education Services (14.8); Restaurants and Accommodation Services (5); and Financial Services (6.6).

Losare elaborated that the results of the Retail Price Survey of the PSA which generated a Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 115.9 for the month of January 2022 from 109.5 in January 2021, indicated that an average Guimarasnon household needs 15.9 pesos more in January 2022 to buy a basket of goods worth 100 pesos in 2018.

“Effective January 2022, the Consumer Price Index uses the 2018 base year. The rebasing of the CPI is done periodically to ensure that the CPI market basket continues to capture goods and services commonly purchased by households over time,” PSO Losare said.

Losare further elaborated that the PSA aims to update expenditure patterns of households and synchronize its base year with the 2018 base year of the gross domestic product.

Of the rebased CPI market basket, food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the most heavily weighted among the commodity groups, followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.

Restaurants and accommodation services rank third, giving transport the fourth biggest weight.

“The weights for the 2018-based CPI were derived from the expenditure data of the 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey of the PSA,” Losare said.