Cluster expects inflation to taper off soon

The Duterte administration’s economic development cluster (EDC) expects the rate of increase in consumer prices would moderate in the coming months once its recently approved measures to counter inflation are implemented.

In a statement, Finance Secretary and EDC Chair Carlos G. Dominguez III said that their slew of measures to help tame the rise in commodity prices, which include streamlining import procedures for rice, fish and sugar, will boost their supply in the domestic market.

With the additional supply, Dominguez said that inflation is expected to decelerate once these measures are in place.

With rice, fish, vegetables and meat among the highest contributors to the August inflation rate of 6.4 percent, Dominguez said “reforms in agriculture will continuously be implemented to address the supply issues causing the rise in food prices.”

“A committed effort from government in the agriculture sector to boost supply of key products and introduce policy reforms will bring down prices for all Filipino families,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said supply issues as the cause of higher food prices is supported by the fact that the lowest regional inflation rate recorded by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) was in the foodabundant and agriculturally productive region of Central Luzon at 3.6 percent.

“We believe that when the measures take effect, the inflation rate increase will be moderated,” Dominguez said.

These measures include the Department of Agriculture’s commitment to replicating the issuance of certificates of necessity to allow fish imports to be distributed in the wet markets in Metro Manila and to the other markets of the country.

On rice supply issues, 4.6 million sacks of rice available in the warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA) will be immediately released to the market across the country.

The government also expects approximately two million sacks of rice previously contracted to be delivered before the end of September

In addition, the NFA Council authorized the importation of five million sacks that will be arriving over the next one-and-a-half months and another five million sacks to be imported early next year.

To address the reported shortage in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and TawiTawi, 2.7 million sacks will be allocated to these areas.

In addition, harvest has also started in many parts of the country, with the projected harvest for 2018 of 12.6 million metric tons of rice, the equivalent of 252 million sacks.