Inflation among low income families in Guimaras tapers to 4.5 pct in June 2023

Slower price movement in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with 6.5 percent inflation pushed the overall inflation for the bottom 30 percent income households (HHs) in Guimaras to 4.5 percent in June 2023, down from 5.5 percent in May 2023.

This is based on the generated data of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Retail Price Survey (RPS) of Commodities conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The 6.5 percent inflation on Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages largely contributed to the slower June Inflation for the bottom 30% income Households by 85.6 percent, followed by Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco with 12.4 percent inflation, and Restaurants and Accommodation Services with 11.4 percent inflation,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

Losare said slower inflation of Food and Non- Alcoholic Beverages was mainly due to price deceleration in the food groups, specifically on Rice with 8.6 percent inflation; Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses (19.8); and Sugar, confectionery and desserts (39.5).

Other commodities that made significant contribution to the food inflation in June 2023 were: Milk, other dairy products and eggs, with 11.1 inflation; Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, and Other Cereals, (6.2); Fruits and nuts (12.2); and Oils and fats (20.8).

“Overall, the food inflation for low-income households in June moved slower to 6.7 percent from 7.9 percent a month ago, 1.4 percentage points slower from food inflation in June 2022 with 8.1 percent, while the Non-Alcoholic Beverages retained its previous month’s 3.6 inflation,” Losare said.

Losare added that aside from the top 3 commodities with the high contribution (shown in Table 1), the Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services with 12.9 percent inflation also contributed 7.8 percent to the overall inflation of 30% income HHs in June 2023.

Other non-food commodities which contributed less than 1 percent were: Recreation, Sport, and Culture (5.5%) at 0.8 percent share; Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (1.6%), also at 0.8 percent; and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (0.2%); and Information and Communication (1.0%) with 0.5 and 0.4 percent sahre, respectively, to the overall inflation for low-income households.

The inflation rate for the bottom 30% income HHs in June 2023 implied that the average price changes of consumer goods and services moved slower to 4.5 percent from 5.5 percent in May 2023.

Losare also highlighted that based on the relative poverty concept, households whose per capita income falls below the bottom 30 percent of the cumulative per capita distribution belong to the low-income group.

“The inflation rate for the bottom 30 percent income households, who are the most vulnerable to economic and social difficulties, was computed to monitor their welfare,” Losare said.