Guimaras low-income inflation hits 4% in April

Inflation for households in the bottom 30% income group in Guimaras rose to 4.0% in April 2026 from 0.0% in March 2026, bringing the province’s year-to-date inflation rate for the sector to 0.2%.

“In comparison, inflation was lower at 0.2 percent in April 2025,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

The April 2026 acceleration was driven by mixed price movements across commodity groups.

The food and nonalcoholic beverages index, which carries the largest weight in the consumption basket of low-income households, rose to 1.8% from -3.2% in March 2026.

“Within the group, cereals and cereal products posted a substantial share of 74.4 percent, particularly rice,” Losare said.

Transport posted the sharpest increase, rising to 27.9% in April 2026 from 16.0% in March 2026.

“This was primarily driven by the operation of personal transport equipment, which registered a 13.2 percent share, largely influenced by higher prices of fuels and lubricants, particularly gasoline,” Losare said.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco also recorded a faster annual increase of 5.0% in April 2026 from 1.6% in March 2026, contributing 3.3% to the upward price pressures during the month.

“The third source of trend was the alcoholic beverages and tobacco which also recorded a faster annual increase of 5.0 percent, up from 1.6 percent in March 2026, contributing 3.3 percent to the upward price pressures during the month,” Losare said.

“The group’s inflation accelerated to 5.0 percent from 1.6 percent in March 2026, driven mainly by higher costs of tobacco, particularly cigarettes,” Losare said.

Other commodity groups that posted increases were personal care and miscellaneous goods and services at 8.5%, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 2.8%, recreation, sport, and culture at 2.3%, furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance at 2.4%, clothing and footwear at 1.9%, and health at 4.6%.

In contrast, inflation for restaurants and accommodation services slowed to 3.7% in April 2026 from 6.3% in March 2026.

Information and communication retained its previous month’s annual rate at 2.4%, while education services stayed at 0.8% and financial services remained at 0.0%.

The top contributors to year-on-year inflation in April 2026 reflected both upward and downward price movements across major commodity groups.

“Transport emerged as the primary driver of upward pressure, recording a sharp increase to 27.9 percent from 16.0 percent in the previous month, despite its relatively smaller weight,” Losare said.

Food and nonalcoholic beverages also contributed significantly because of its 26.06% weight in the consumption basket and faster inflation rate of 1.8%.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco further added to the upward trend as inflation in the group rose to 5.0% from 1.6%.

Losare said inflation is derived from the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, which measures changes in the average prices of goods and services commonly purchased by households over time.

In April 2026, the CPI for low-income households in Guimaras was recorded at 139.0.

“The CPI serves as the primary indicator used in computing the inflation rate, as it tracks movements in the prices of a fixed basket of goods and services typically consumed by households,” Losare explained.

“This means a typical low-income Guimarasnons would need PHP 1,390 in April 2026 to purchase the same basket of goods and services that cost PHP 1,000 in 2018, the base year used in computing the CPI,” Losare added.