Monday, March 24, 2008 Trade office says prices of goods still stable
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced that the current prices of prime and basic commodities are still stable after the stunning increase of prices in the past weeks.
This, according to DTI Regulatory Division Chief Erlinda Pineda, has been the result of the Holy Week that had somehow contributed to the "neutral movement" of prices.
"The Holy Week has contributed to the slow movement in the prices that we have now," Pineda said, stressing that the season has resulted in many people going easy on meat that kept supply shortages at bay.
Earlier, Trade Secretary Peter Favila mentioned about the "temporary buffer" period in the market across the country because of the season.
Records show that prices of meat products like pork have been around P170 to P180 per kilo and even reaching an unprecedented low of P160 in some markets.
While the food stuffs prescribed in the season like fish have experienced a slight surge, prices of tilapia has been playing at P80 to 90 and galunggong or gigi has surged to P130 from P120 and even higher in some areas of the province.
Pineda, however, said consumers should not expect a rollback in the prices of fish, as the end of the Lenten season would usher in the Fiesta season.
"The fiesta months would surely place a lot spending and will again place a burden on the supply of meat since the season is focused on cooking. Other products like oil and flour will also be affected by this season," Pineda said.
The DTI is advising people who plan to spend in the coming fiesta months of April and May to take advantage of the "temporary buffer period."
"They should try to gather around basic ingredients now while prices are still not moving. If there is any movement it would surely be up," Pineda said.
She, however, added that the DTI would be monitoring prices of prime and basic commodities. She said sellers should not go beyond the five to 10 percent threshold in price increases and should take into consideration the buying capacity of ordinary consumers.
"Meat prices have a lot of components but according to our networking with the Department of Agriculture there is enough supply to last the season. But prices of meat may be dictated by poultry food and cost of production," Pineda said.
The DTI also stressed that prices should follow the suggested retail prices as approved by the department and that products should have price tags. (IOF)
