BACOLOD City – Production must be maximized to stabilize the prices of prime commodities in the local market, according to Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda.
The head of the city government’s Market Coordinating and Monitoring Task Force, Pineda said there has been an upward trend in the prices of goods in the city but this was not “sudden.”
One example is the price of rice, which has been P52 per kilogram in the last three months, higher compared to the previous P40 per kilogram, said Pineda.
Pineda belied reports that traders were hoarding products, citing the regular monitoring of his task force.
But the task force head called the attention of government agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry to address the rising prices.
In August, the country’s inflation rate rose to 6.4 percent – the highest recorded in nine years.
Last month, the inflation rate rose even higher at 6.7 percent./PN
