Rice takes biggest bite out of Guimaras poor’s household budget

JORDAN, Guimaras — Rice prices accounted for half of the inflation burden on Guimaras’ poorest households in October, as rising food and fuel costs pushed inflation among the province’s bottom 30% income group to 7.7%.

Nelida Losare, chief statistical specialist of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Guimaras, said at a press conference on Nov. 12 that rice contributed 50.4%, or 3.88 percentage points, of the overall inflation rate.

“In terms of contribution to the overall inflation rate among low-income households in Guimaras in October 2026, rice ranked first, with an inflation rate of 23.7%,” she said.

This was 3.9 percentage points higher than the 19.8% recorded in September.

Gasoline ranked second among the leading commodity contributors, with an inflation rate of 56.3%, up from 45.6% in the previous month.

It accounted for 12.3%, or 0.95 percentage point, of the overall inflation rate.

Cigarettes ranked third, posting a 12.9% inflation rate and contributing 6.1%, or 0.47 percentage point, to the overall rate.

Losare said inflation among bottom 30% income households is measured to better understand the living conditions of families particularly vulnerable to economic and social challenges.

She explained that the effect of price increases on inflation depends not only on how much prices rise but also on the weight of each commodity in the household consumption basket.

The basket consists of goods and services commonly purchased by households, including food, beverages, electricity, water, and other basic necessities.

Even at 7.7%, Guimaras’ inflation rate among bottom 30% income households remained lower than the 11.6% recorded in Western Visayas and the 9.5% national average.

From January to October, the average inflation rate for the province’s low-income households stood at 3.6%.

The October rate marks a sharp reversal from a year earlier, when inflation for the same income group in Guimaras stood at -1.3%.

FOOD, TRANSPORT DRIVE INFLATION

Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for the largest share of inflationary pressure among low-income households, posting a 6.9% inflation rate and contributing 64.6% to the overall increase.

Transport ranked second, with inflation reaching 28.4% and accounting for 17.7% of the increase.

Restaurants and accommodation services followed, recording 6.4% inflation and contributing 7.5%.

The same commodity groups also figured prominently in Guimaras’ overall headline inflation in October.

At the provincial level, headline inflation accelerated to 7.1% in October, although it remained below the rates recorded in Western Visayas and nationwide.

Nationally, headline inflation rose to 7.8% in October from 7.2% in September, driven by higher domestic fuel prices and transport fares, according to the PSA.

A year earlier, Guimaras posted headline inflation of -0.1% in October 2025, its fourth straight month of deflation.

Guimaras’ average headline inflation for the first 10 months of 2026 stood at 3.7%.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation nearly doubled to 5.2% in October from 2.7% in September, accounting for 50.1% of the overall inflation rate.

Transport inflation also accelerated to 33.4% from 21.6%, partly driven by higher prices of gasoline and motorcycles.

Meanwhile, inflation in restaurants and accommodation services rose to 6.5% from 1.2% in the previous month.

Rice remained a major contributor to provincial headline inflation, posting a 23.1% inflation rate and accounting for 34.4%, or 2.44 percentage points, of the overall rate.

Nationwide, rice inflation rose to 20.7% in October, the fastest pace since July 2024.

Gasoline recorded an inflation rate of 56.3% and contributed 12.1%, or 0.86 percentage point, to headline inflation.

Passenger transport by sea and inland waterways also added to price pressures, posting a 142.5% inflation rate and contributing 8.4% to the overall rate.

The island province relies on pump boats and ferries for passenger travel to and from Iloilo City.

While Guimaras continued to post lower inflation than the regional and national averages, the October acceleration highlights the growing pressure of rising prices on households, particularly those with limited capacity to absorb increases in the cost of basic goods and services.