Price hikes in 3 commodity groups push Guimaras inflation to 4.7%

Price increases in Transport (32.2%), Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (14.2%), and Restaurant & Miscellaneous Good and Services (10.7%), pushed Guimaras’ year-on-year inflation (the rate of change in the Consumer Price Index or CPI) to 4.7 % in May 2021, based on the result of the Retail Prices Survey (RPS) generated by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“Transport, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and Restaurant & Miscellaneous Good and Services were among the heavily weighted commodity groups that pushed the May 2021 inflation to 4.7% with an increment of 1.6 percentage points from its previous year’s rate of 3.1%,’’ Provincial Statistics Officer (PSO) Nelida B. Losare said.

The 71.4% price hikes in transportation services propelled the 32.2% inflation in the Transport Commodity group in May 2021.

“The 16.0% price increase in alcoholic beverages pushed the commodity of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to 14.2%, while the 13.40% increment in catering services drove inflation of Restaurant & Miscellaneous Good and Services to 10.7%,” Losare said.

Other commodity groups such as Education (5.1%); Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House (4.4%); and Clothing and Footwear (3.7%) also contributed to the faster inflation rate.

The 5.1% increment in Education was mainly due to the 8.0% price increase on Secondary Education fees.

The 4.4 % price growth on Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House were largely driven by the faster price changes on Household Appliances (32.3%); and Glassware, Tableware and Household Utensils (15.8%).

“The 3.7% swell in Clothing and Footwear was due to the price increments in both clothing and footwear at 3.8% and 3.6%, respectively,” Losare said.

Other commodity items that contributed to the faster rate of change in prices were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels (1.3%); Health (1.3%); and Communication (0.1%).

Only Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages; and Recreation and Culture showed slower price changes in May at -0.1 and -1.9%, respectively.

“All of the above-mentioned food and non-food commodities were the items being monitored during the Retail Prices Survey (RPS) conducted by the PSA wherein for May 2021, it generated a CPI of 128.2 which means that an average Guimarasnon household needs PHP28.2 more in May 2021 to buy a basket of goods worth PHP100 in 2012,” Losare expounded.

“CPI or inflation measures the average change in prices over time that consumers pay for a basket of goods and services,” Losare added.

Losare also explained that Guimaras inflation for May moved erratically for nine consecutive years (2013-2021), from 1.7% in 2013, it rose to 2.8% in 2014 then slowed in 2015 to -0.7%, the slowest rate in 9 years.

“From 2016, Guimaras’ inflation consistently climbed until it reached its peak at 6.4% in 2018,” Losare said.

“The continuous price increment for three consecutive years (2016-2018) discontinued in 2019 where price movements decelerated to 1.2%, it then swayed up again to 3.1% in 2020 to 4.7% in 2021. The figure is the second-fastest rate within 9 years,” Losare said

NELIDA B. LOSARE
Chief Statistical Specialist/Provincial Statistics Officer