Food prices continue to drive Guimaras’ low-income households’ inflation in July 2026

GUIMARAS — The inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households in Guimaras remained at 5.7% in July 2026, unchanged from June, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The July rate was significantly higher than the negative 1.4% recorded in July 2025, according to PSA data.

“While the overall inflation rate for low-income households remained steady in July 2026, movements in commodity prices varied across expenditure groups,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

“Slower price increases in major commodity groups helped offset faster inflation in selected sectors, resulting in a stable inflation rate during the month,” Losare said.

Food and nonalcoholic beverages primarily drove the 5.7% headline inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households in Guimaras in July, with the commodity group posting 5.2% inflation, slightly lower than 5.4% in June.

“Despite the slowdown, the commodity group remained the largest contributor to overall inflation, accounting for 54.8 percent or 3.13 percentage points of the 5.7 percent inflation rate.”

“A more detailed discussion of food inflation is presented in a separate release,” Losare said.

Separate PSA data showed that food inflation alone among Guimaras’ bottom 30% income households eased to 5.4% in July from 5.6% in June.

Transport was the second-largest contributor, accounting for 21.8% or 1.24 percentage points of the overall inflation rate.

Transport inflation eased to 20.9% in July from 23.3% in June.

“The slowdown was mainly attributed to the lower annual increase in Passenger Transport Services, which decelerated to 14.5 percent from 18.9 percent in the previous month,” Losare said.

In contrast, operation of personal transport equipment posted a higher inflation rate of 36.8% in July from 33.5% in June, driven by faster price increases in fuels and lubricants.

“In particular, Gasoline recorded an inflation rate of 36.9 percent, higher than the 33.5 percent posted in June, contributing 10.9 percent or 0.62 percentage point to the overall inflation rate,” Losare said.

Meanwhile, alcoholic beverages and tobacco emerged as the third-largest contributor, accounting for 8.6% or 0.49 percentage point of the overall inflation rate.

The commodity group’s inflation rate accelerated to 7.6% in July from 7.1% in June.

Within the group, alcoholic beverages, particularly spirits and liquors, recorded faster annual price increases compared with the previous month.

Other notable contributors were personal care and miscellaneous goods and services, which contributed 4.8% or 0.27 percentage point, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which accounted for 3.4% or 0.20 percentage point of overall inflation.

Overall, food and nonalcoholic beverages, transport, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco accounted for 85.2% of the total inflation experienced by the bottom 30% income households in Guimaras in July, contributing a combined 4.86 percentage points to the 5.7% overall inflation rate.

During the month, inflation accelerated in alcoholic beverages and tobacco; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance; and education services.

Slower inflation was recorded in food and nonalcoholic beverages, health, transport, and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services.

Five commodity groups maintained their previous month’s inflation rates: clothing and footwear; information and communication; recreation, sport and culture; restaurants and accommodation services; and financial services.

Overall, faster inflation in some commodity groups was offset by slower inflation in others, resulting in the unchanged 5.7% inflation rate in July.

Inflation is measured using the Consumer Price Index, which tracks changes in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

In July, the CPI for the bottom 30% income households in Guimaras was 140.5, indicating that a basket of goods and services worth PHP 1,000 in the 2018 base year would cost about PHP 1,405 in July 2026.