Monday, April 07, 2008 Food price increases already apparent here By Carlo P. Mallo
PRICES of milk, canned goods, noodles, and flour have risen by as much as 17 percent over the past three months, even before the reported looming rice crisis.
In an interview with Robert Barlis, chief of the Consumer Welfare and Trade Regulatory Division (CWTRD) of the Department of Trade and Industry 11, he said most basic necessities and prime commodities monitored by the agency did not show any tell-tale sign of price increase except for powder filled milk, hard flour, soft flour, canned beef, instant noodles, common wire nails, and steel bars.
Based on their monitoring as of March 28, 2008, the 4" common wire nails yielded the most increase in prices with a 17.64 percent price increase from P42.50 per kilo to its current price of P50.00 per kilo.
Processed or canned beef recorded an increase of 17.51 percent from its P33.40 price per 150 grams to its current price of P39.25 per 150 grams. Instant noodles recorded a price increase of 17.34 percent from its P4.90 for a 55-gram pack to its present price of P5.75.
The monitoring division of the trade department also reported that powdered filled milk had a 15.02 percent increase from its P56.25 price for a 150-gram pack to the prevailing price of P64.70 as it is sold in stores today.
Soft flour had a 13 percent increase from its price of P715 for a 25-kilogram sack to its present price of P808 while hard flour increased by 11.25 percent from its P800 price for a 25-kilogram sack to its present price of P890 for a 25-kilogram sack.
Barlis said the increase in the price of steel is being attributed to the high cost of raw materials and the continuous surge in oil prices that affect the cost of transportation and energy.
"The increase in the price of canned beef may have been brought about by the hike in the world market price of tin plates, which have increased by more than 10 percent since December 2007," Barlis said.
Moreover, Barlis blamed the increase in the price of flour as the primary reason for the increase in the prices of instant noodles, which has flour as its primary ingredient.
"Milk prices may have been brought about by the high cost of raw milk imported by Philippine manufacturers from Australia and New Zealand," Barlis added.
The CWTRD chief, however, discounted the possibility that the increase may have been brought about by the current rice shortage in the country.
"High world wheat prices caused by shortages in the supply are pushing the flour prices worldwide up," Barlis said.
Barlis added that the government is now studying the possibility of lowering tariff rates to cushion the impact of the increase of flour prices in the local market.
