Inflation for low-income HHs subsides to 5.1% in April 2023 lowest in 13 mos

The overall inflation for the bottom 30% income households (HHs) in Guimaras slowed to 5.1 percent in April 2023 from 6.4 percent in March 2023.

This is the slowest annual price change recorded in 13 months, based on data on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Retail Price Survey (RPS) of Commodities conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“The 5.1 inflation for low-income HHs, was mainly attributed to the slower rate of change on the prices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 6.8 percent with the highest contribution of 78.7 percent, followed by Restaurants and Accommodation Services with 13.23 percent inflation, chipping in 8.7 percent; and Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods and Services with 15.9 percent inflation and contribution of 8.75 percent,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

Losare said inflation of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (6.8%) was mainly due to the gradual price change of the food groups, specifically on Rice with 6.2 percent inflation; Sugar, confectionery, and desserts with 48.3; and Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals with 8.3.

Other commodities that made significant contribution to the food inflation in April 2023 were: Fish and other seafood (3.5%); Milk, other dairy products, and eggs (12.6%); Oils and fats (0.2%); and Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, and Other Cereals (4.3%).

“Overall, the food inflation for low-income families in April slowed to 7.0 percent from 9.0 percent a month ago, showing an increment of 2.2 percentage points from 4.8 food inflation in April 2022, while the Non-Alcoholic Beverages soared to 4.3 percent in April 2023 against the 2.3 percent rate last month, yet, faster than the 2.6 percent inflation in the same month a year ago,” Losare said

Aside from the top 3 commodities with the highest contribution (Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages; Restaurants and Accommodation Services; Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods and Services), the other non-food commodity items that pulled down headline inflation of the bottom 30% income HHs in April 2023 were Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (7.0%); Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (5.5%); and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (1).

Other non-food commodities which contributed less than 1.0 percent were Recreation, Sport, and Culture, with a 0.9 percent contribution, and Information and Communication, chipping in 0.4 percent to the overall inflation for low-income families.

Three commodity groups maintained their inflation rates from the previous month, namely: Clothing and Footwear (0.9%), Education Services (-0.2%), and Financial Services (0.0%).

The inflation rate from the bottom 30% income HHs in April 2023 implied that the average price changes of consumer goods and services moved slower to 5.1 percent from 6.4 percent in March 2023.

 “A CPI of 122.8 indicates that a low-income household will require 1,228 pesos in April 2023 to purchase a basket of items worth 1,000 pesos in 2018. The CPI determines the inflation rate for a specific period, including the Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP),” Losare clarified.

“The PPP in Guimaras was 0.81, indicating that one peso in 2018 is worth 0.81 centavos in April 2023, representing a 0.04 percentage points depreciation from the PPP value of 0.85 recorded in April 2022.”

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.