Basic goods makers seek price hike okay with DTI

MANUFACTURERS of canned sardines, canned meat, instant noodles, and bread, among others, have requested price increases for their products, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Dti-consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo bared during a televised interview that makers of canned sardines, processed milk, coffee, instant noodles, bread, candles and detergent soap are those who have requested for a price increase for their products under the basic necessities category.

For the prime commodities, Castelo said there are pending requests for canned meat, bath soap and some condiments.

According to the trade official, among the factors that could lead to the adjustment of prices are the prices of raw materials that manufacturers are using, majority of which are being imported. Another factor that could be causing the price changes, Castelo said, is the logistics cost since fuel is consumed for the distribution of goods.

Further, she said, packaging materials could also have a hand in the adjustment of prices of goods as majority of these are also being imported by manufacturers. Castelo said these factors contribute to the increase of the manufacturer’s cost of production that may prompt them to request for price increases.

Castelo said the DTI initially planned to release an updated suggested retail price (SRP) bulletin within the month of January because the pending requests have piled up.

However, she said partly in Filipino, “We’re not yet done and we’re still studying carefully when to release it [SRP bulletin]. At ‘yung figures meron pa naman kaming natitirang validation dahil ang requests panay ang dating sa amin.”

“So we are just trying to finish important figures para masigurado natin ‘yung computation. So wala pa tayong date kung kelan lalabas,” Castelo added.

Meanwhile, with the recent uptick in local retail egg prices, Castelo assured the prices of bread may unlikely be affected since egg is not a key ingredient in the particular brands being monitored by DTI.

The DTI only monitors Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal brands of bread. Castelo said the price increase requests from the manufacturers of this specific brand could be attributed to the increase in the price of flour last year.

“Hindi po siya apektado ng presyo ng itlog dahil wala po itong ingredient na itlog. ‘Yung itlog ginagamit sa mga medyo premium bread na kagaya ng ensaymada o cheese roll at iba pang premium bread,” Castelo said.

The trade official also said that DTI has ongoing talks with the Department of Agriculture (DA) regarding the prices of onion and eggs. She said the two agencies have been tackling recommendations to the government but noted that “these are just measures to address the issues pero ire-recommend pa po natin sa DTI secretary and DA and of course the President.”

Earlier this month, the agriculture department approved the importation of 21,060 metric tons of fresh yellow and red onions to temper the commodity’s retail prices, which have skyrocketed to more than P700 per kilogram in recent weeks.