Poorest Metro Manila households feel price pinch in October

MANILA, Philippines — The rise in consumer prices for the poorest households in the National Capital Region (NCR) went up at a faster pace in October on account of higher food prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.

At the national level, inflation for the country’s bottom 30 percent income households slowed down further in October to 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent in September and 9.5 percent in October 2018.

Consumer prices for low income households in areas outside NCR (AONCR) slowed down to 0.8 percent in October from 0.9 percent in September and 9.5 percent in October 2018.

Inflation in NCR, however, accelerated in October to 0.2 percent, a reversal of the 0.6 percent contraction in September.

PSA attributed this to the faster growth in the food, beverage and tobacco index.

This tracks the growth in the headline inflation rate for NCR for October to 1.3 percent from 0.9 percent in September.

PSA chief Dennis Mapa earlier attributed the rise in the headline rate for NCR to the uptick in the prices of meat products in the metro because of the  African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.

ASF so far is most prevalent in NCR, Region III and Region IV-A. Visayas and Mindanao, meanwhile, are considered to be ASF-free zones.

Substitution for pork and pork products have caused prices of chicken and beef to accelerate in NCR.

The same trend was seen in Region 3 (Central Luzon) that registered the highest inflation of 2.3 percent in AONCR in October.

Prices of whole chicken in NCR, meanwhile, has risen by 7.6 percent month-on-month and by 14 percent year-on-year in October.

NCR prices of beef, meanwhile, have risen by 0.7 percent and by 4.6 percent year-on-year during the month.

Pork aversion because of the ASF outbreak, meanwhile, have caused NCR prices of pork meat to decline by three percent month-on-month and by 5.3 percent year-on-year.