Suspension sought on SRP hikes until March

A CONSUMER RIGHTS advocacy group is requesting that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) suspend price increases on the expanded suggested retail price list until March.

Laban Konsyumer, Inc. (LKI) said government should implement a moratorium on any price increases for items listed in the expanded SRP until the end of the first quarter of 2019.

“In two weeks’ time, we shall enter the BER months where pressures on demand and supply of commodities can trigger another round of price increases,” the group said in a statement.

LKI also requested that the

DTI publish in major dailies and tabloids updates to the E-SRP and to highlight the items which increased in price.

The group also called on other agencies like the Departments of Agriculture and Health to deploy full time price monitors in all wet markets and supermarkets in all urban centers.

LKI earlier said items on the expanded list, released at the start of the month, have recorded price increases greater than were approved by the DTI.

The DTI said it will step up its price monitoring activities by checking 600 stores every week, more than the 400 it used to check.

The SRP is a tool used by the DTI to manage profiteering in the widely-sold consumer goods. Under the expanded list, items being monitored have risen to 209 from 145 previously.

July inflation rose 5.7%, elevating concerns about the impact of rising prices on poor families.

LKI also sought the implementation of the 10% discount of up to 20 kilos of NFA rice per month to those living below the poverty line, as provided by the tax reform law. —