THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has recorded a slight uptick in the country’s headline inflation for June 2025, which brought the average increase in prices for goods and services to 1.8 percent during the first half of the year.
In a report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the main contributors to the headline inflation in June were the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 46.7 percent share or 0.7 percentage point; restaurants and accommodation services with 14.9 percent share or 0.2 percentage point; and food and non-alcoholic beverages with 10.8 percent share or 0.2 percentage point.
It noted the year-on-year increase in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 3.2 percent during the month from 2.3 percent in May 2025 and slower annual decrease of transport to 1.6 percent from 2.4 percent during the month prior.
The PSA also recorded a higher inflation on clothing and footwear; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance; education services; and restaurants and accommodation services during the said month.
However, the PSA said the country’s food inflation eased to 0.1 percent from 0.7 percent in May 2025. In June 2024, food inflation was higher at 6.5 percent.
It said the deceleration of food inflation was mainly brought about by the annual decrease in vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 2.8 percent from an annual increase of 3.4 percent in the previous month.
Significantly, rice recorded a steeper deflation of -14.3 percent in June 2025, even lower than the -12.8 percent deflation recorded in May 2025.
Ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified also contributed to the downtrend with a slower annual increment of 2.2 percent inflation rate in June 2025 from 3.0 percent in May 2025.
In addition, faster annual decline was noted in the indices of corn at 14.5 percent, and sugar, confectionery and desserts at 0.7 percent in June 2025 from their respective year-on-year decreases of 10.6 percent and 0.6 percent in May 2025.
In a statement, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said the government measures to stabilize food supply, boost agriculture and improve logistics significantly helped ease food inflation.
“The sharp decline in food inflation over the past year underscores the continued progress in our coordinated efforts to boost local production, improve logistics, and implement calibrated trade and biosecurity measures,” said Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
“We will sustain these interventions and complement them with targeted initiatives to ensure a continuous, stable supply and shield consumers from future price pressures,” he added.
To further strengthen food supply chains, Balisacan said the Department of Agriculture (DA) will intensify the implementation of industry recovery and expansion programs, including the Swine Industry Recovery Project (SIRP) and Livestock Economic Enterprise Development, which aim to accelerate the rehabilitation of the hog industry and restore hog population levels to pre-African Swine Fever levels.
He said the DA will also establish the country’s first Onion Research and Extension Center in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija, which will focus on developing effective methods to combat pests and diseases, enhance seed quality, and increase farm yields.
Amid the erratic movement in oil prices, the Department of Energy has partnered with private oil companies to offer fuel discounts to affected motorists, particularly public utility vehicles.
“While the continued easing of food inflation is encouraging, we will maintain our vigilance against possible external and domestic risks. Volatile global markets and climate-related disruptions affecting fuel and electricity costs continue to threaten price stability,” Balisacan said.
“We will remain focused on strengthening interagency coordination in implementing timely, targeted, and evidence-based interventions to safeguard the purchasing power of Filipino households, ensuring that the much-needed support reaches the most vulnerable sectors of the country,” he added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)