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CEBU CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Central Visayas has appealed to the retailers to follow the suggested retail price (SRP) on basic commodities to help cushion the impact of inflation brought by the pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Maria Elena Arbon, DTI-7 regional director, cited the dynamics of the movement of prices of basic commodities, saying the rising cost of raw materials up to the manufacturing and from manufacturing to distribution to the consumers has an impact on the retail prices.
“Ngano ni increase man ni sjla? Kitang tanan kahibalo man ta unsay panghitabo karon sa kalibutan. About sa Ukraine war, sige pud ta explain unsay hinungdan ani so kaning atong pagtaas sa presyo sa palaliton. Global gyud ni siya (Why is there an increase? We all know the happenings across the world. About the Ukraine war, we keep on explaining the causes in the increase of prices of goods. This is really a global phenomenon),” Arbon said.
Arbon’s remarks came as DTI central office issued the new suggested retail prices (SRP) for basic necessities and prime commodities as a price guide for 218 stock keeping units (SKU) under the agency’s jurisdiction and was published in a national broadsheet last week.
The 136 SKUs or 62 percent retained their Jan. 27, 2022 SRP bulletin prices, while the DTI approved a minimum increase for 82 basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) in its latest SRP list.
The DTI-7 statement said the products affected by the price increase include bread, canned fish, potable water in bottles and containers, processed milk, locally manufactured instant noodles, coffee, salt, laundry soap, detergent, candles, flour, processed and canned pork, processed and canned beef, vinegar, fish sauce (patis), soy sauce, toilet soap, and batteries.
The guide includes additional SKUs, such as bareta bar white (360g) and bareta bar fabcon (360g).
While prices of 86 percent or 71 out of 82 SKUs adjusted their prices from 2 to 10 percent, the DTI-7 said the price increase is still less than the global price movement of raw materials.
“Of the 16 SKU covering canned sardines that we placed under monitoring, six of them have an increase in prices. The increase ranges from 3.92 percent to 5.35 percent, which in peso terms, from 65 to 85 centavos,” Arbon said.
The DTI issued the SRP list to continuously guide consumers and retailers in their purchase and sale of basic and prime goods.
The public may refer to the most recent SRP list of basic and prime goods before going to the supermarkets and grocery stores, it added. (PNA)
