Guimaras’ food Iinflation moves a bit faster to 0.3% in June 2021

The monthly rate of change in prices of food commodities in Guimaras moved a bit faster in June 2021 to 0.3 percent from –1 percent in May.

The figure is the fifth fast monthly food inflation since June of 2020.

The 3.2% rate in February 2021 was the fastest food inflation for 13 months, followed by the 0.8 percent November and 0.7 percent in December 2020, respectively.

The 4th faster rate was in April 2021 at 0.4%, closely followed by January and June with inflation rates of 0.3 percent each. (See Figure 1)

Moreover, seven months in 2021 saw slower rate of change in food prices; three posted deflation of 1 percent and over; while four months posted a deflation of below one percent.

Among the food commodity items, five recorded faster rates in June 2021, pushing Food inflation to 0.3 percent from a -1 percent:

-Bread and Cereals at 0.9% from –2.3% in May 2021 driven by the price hikes on rice at 1.2% from –2.6%

-Fish at 0.6% from 0.3 percent a month ago

-Oils and Fats at 0.3 % from 0.1 percent;

-Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate, and Confectionery at 0.8% from 0.5%, and

-Food Products N.E.C. at 5.6% from –2.3% in May 2021

Two Food Commodity items, however, managed to deflate their prices in June 2021, while three food items increased a bit faster but still negative or lower than the price indices recorded a month ago:

-Meat with –1.0% from 1.9%

-Milk, Cheese, and Eggs at –0.2% from 2.0% a month ago

-Fruit at –0.8% from –1.6%,

-Vegetables at –0.4% from –3.8%, and

-Other Cereals, Flour, Cereal Preparation, Bread, Pasta and Other Bakery Products at –0.2% from –1.1%

Likewise, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco posted slower inflation of 1.4% in June 2021, against 1.5% a month ago.

Moreover, inflation for non-Alcoholic Beverages inched up by 0.1 percentage points in June 2021, from the unchanged price in May 2021.

 

YEAR-ON-YEAR FOOD INFLATION

The year-on-year inflation, or the annual rate of change in price levels for food, in June 2021 relative to the same month last year is on a downtrend.

From a faster rate of 3.2% in June 2020, it slowed to 0.5 percent in December.

In 2021 however, inflation started at a slower pace of –0.5% to 0.5% in June of the current year. The fastest rate of 2% in February 2021 is still slower than the 3.2% inflation recorded in June 2020.

The months of September and October 2020 experienced deflation in food prices at –0.9% and –1.2%, respectively, while three months in 2021 also experienced price deflation, January (–0.5%), April (–0.6%), and May (–0.2%).

In Western Visayas, Capiz and Iloilo posted the highest food inflation in June 2021 at 4.7% and 3.8%, respectively, followed by Antique and Negros Occidental with 2.7% and 2.2%, respectively.

Guimaras has slower inflation of 0.5%, next to Aklan with the slowest inflation of –4.6%, from the fastest rate of 7.4% in June 2020.