Meat, Vegetables Slow Guimaras Food Inflation to 5.5%

 Guimaras’ food inflation rate slowed to 5.5% in September from 7.3% in August, largely due to a decrease in retail prices of meat and vegetables, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The decline was led by the price of meat from slaughtered land animals, which dropped to 10.2% inflation from 17.5%. Vegetable prices, including tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, also fell significantly, with inflation reaching -16.8% from -4.0%, the PSA reported.

“The slower inflation in meat and vegetables was primarily driven by a 22.6% inflation in pork and a -46.7% inflation in tomatoes,” said Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare.

In contrast, certain food items saw a slight rise in inflation compared to August 2024. These included cereals and cereal products, up to 18.8% from 18.7%; fish and seafood, increasing to 0.7% from -1.1%; milk, dairy products, and eggs, which rose to 3.6% from 2.6%; oils and fats, moving to -0.7% from -3.8%; fruits and nuts, up to -3.1% from -4.1%; sugar, confectionery, and desserts, reaching -8.3% from -8.7%; and ready-made food and other products, which increased to 6.5% from 6.2%.

The top three commodity groups contributing to the overall food inflation rate in September 2024 included cereals and cereal products, contributing 94.3% or 5.19 percentage points; meat and other slaughtered land animal parts, contributing 17.5% or 0.96 percentage points; and milk, other dairy products, and eggs, which contributed 3.5% or 0.19 percentage points.

Losare also noted that core food inflation, excluding certain food items, dropped to 1.1% in September 2024 from 3.2% in August. Core food inflation in September 2023 was significantly higher at 12.0% (Table 1).

Among the provinces in Region VI, Capiz recorded the highest food inflation, followed by Guimaras and Iloilo. Lower food inflation rates were observed in Antique, Aklan, and Negros Occidental (See Figure 2).