Guimaras food inflation hits 3% in May

Food inflation in Guimaras accelerated in May 2026 as prices rose across major commodity groups, particularly fish and other seafood, vegetables, and cereals, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The increase came as Guimaras’ headline inflation rose to 4.7% in May from 4.4% in April, based on PSA price data reported this month.

“Food inflation for all income households rose to 3.0 percent from 0.9 percent in April 2026, while the bottom 30 percent income households recorded 3.6 percent from 1.6 percent during the same period,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

“The latest figures marked the second consecutive month of positive food inflation after nearly a year of food deflation in the province. The trend indicates that food prices in May 2026 were generally higher compared with the same month last year,” Losare added.

Losare said food inflation continued to increase in May after returning to positive territory in April.

“Higher prices of fish and seafood, vegetables, and cereals contributed significantly to the increase in food inflation across income groups,” Losare said.

For all-income households, fish and other seafood was the primary driver of the food inflation uptrend, accounting for 40.9% of the movement.

The commodity group posted an inflation rate of 6.3% in May, up from 2.7% in April.

Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses followed with an inflation rate of 18.1%, up from 12% in April, and contributed 22.4% to the food inflation uptrend.

Cereals and cereal products rose to 5.2% from 4.3%, accounting for 17.6% of the uptrend.

“The major contributors to food inflation for all income households were vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, which contributed 56.1 percent or 1.68 percentage points, followed by cereals and cereal products with 53.8 percent contribution or 1.61 percentage points, and fish and other seafood with 48.9 percent contribution or 1.47 percentage points,” Losare said.

Other commodity groups that recorded faster inflation in May were fruits and nuts at 9.9%, up from 3.3%; oils and fats at 0.9%, up from minus 0.2%; and ready-made food and other food products at minus 0.1%, up from minus 0.5%.

Slower inflation was recorded in milk, other dairy products, and eggs, which fell to minus 0.9% from minus 0.4%.

Sugar, confectionery, and desserts eased to 1.9% from 2%.

For the bottom 30% income households, cereals and cereal products remained the biggest contributor to the food inflation uptrend, accounting for 28.4%.

The commodity group posted an inflation rate of 5.1% in May, up from 4% in April.

Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses followed with a 27.5% share of the uptrend after inflation rose to 19% from 11.4% in April.

Fish and other seafood accounted for 27.4% of the uptrend, with inflation rising to 4.9% from 2.7%.

Among low-income households, the top contributors to food inflation were cereals and cereal products at 54.2%, or 1.95 percentage points; vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses at 49.1%, or 1.77 percentage points; and fish and other seafood at 33.2%, or 1.20 percentage points.

Other commodity groups that posted faster inflation among low-income households were fruits and nuts at 10.5%, up from 3.9%; oils and fats at 2.5%, up from 0.8%; and ready-made food and other food products at 0.8%, up from 0.4%.

Slower inflation was recorded in milk, other dairy products, and eggs, which fell to minus 1.1% from minus 0.2%.

Sugar, confectionery, and desserts eased to 2.4% from 2.7%.

“While food inflation has returned to positive territory, the movement was largely influenced by selected food commodity groups, particularly fish and seafood, vegetables, and cereals. These remain the most significant contributors to food price movements in the province,” Losare said.