THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Occidental is waiting for the instruction of the agency’s head office as to the implementation of expanded suggested retail prices (SRPs) among basic and prime commodities in the country.
Reginald Hudierez, senior trade and industry development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental, told SunStar Bacolod on Monday, July 30, that the expanded SRPs have already been eyed before but with most often consumed or “popular” products only.
Hudierez, however, said there are also consumers buying expensive commodities thus, the public clamor is also inevitable on these high-cost goods.
“We are still waiting for the guidelines. Once we received it, we have to implement the directives,” he added.
The DTI Central Office earlier said the expanded SRPs on selected goods will take effect starting Wednesday, August 1.
DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo, in an interview, said the move is to increase the number of brands that need to have SRPs.
For basic necessity like sardines, for instance, from seven brands the DTI will expand the SRPs to 18.
Castelo said this is to provide wider choices for the consumers, so both premium and budget brands will now have SRPs.
“Before, we only have SRPs among budget brands. But consumers also clamor that they should also be given price guide on commodities with higher costs,” she added.
Included in the products with expanded SRPs are canned goods like sardines, corned beef, meatloaf, evaporated and condensed milk, and coffee.
For DTI-Negros Occidental, Hudierez said the implementation of expanded SRPs would mean additional “works” on their part as wider brands of basic and prime goods will now be covered.
Hudierez said their personnel would be spending more time in monitoring the stores which may delay the conduct of the report, which may extend from the existing one week.
“With limited or scarce of personnel, we are going to strategize measures especially on monitoring and reporting whether SRPs are being complied,” he said, adding that “we might tap the assistance of store staff for faster data collection.”
SRPs are important in monitoring whether retailers are taking advantage of the price.
Under the Price Act, setting an excessive price of products from what is provided by the SRPs is considered as profiteering.
For the DTI, having SRPs does not mean that the government is already “regulating” the prices.
It is just a price guide for consumers to know if the prices are reasonable or not, Castelo said.
For his part, Hudierez said SRPs give consumers the awareness so that stores could not just impose increases on the prices of the products.
“Consumer awareness would result to consumer protection,” he added.
DTI-Negros Occidental, earlier, noted an adjustment on the SRPs of some basic and prime commodities.
Based on July 2018 SRPs, it noted an average increase of up to P2 among some canned goods mainly due to upward movements on the cost of raw materials.