AFTER issuing the new suggested retail prices (SRPs) for basic goods and prime commodities, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual plans to review and streamline the list.
Basic goods include canned sardines, processed milk, coffee, bread, instant noodles, salt, detergent soap, bottled water, and candles, while prime commodities include meat loaf, beef loaf, corned beef, soy sauce, vinegar, fish sauce, toilet soap, and battery.
Pascual wants to rationalize the SRP list, focusing on products that are mostly purchased by the general public.
āFor example, the water in big containers, these are not being bought by the mass base population. They buy the 300 (milliliters)ā¦ Thatās what we are monitoring for the increase. But the five gallons, those are rarely bought. So I was thinking that maybe, we can exclude it,ā he said.
The new SRPs of basic goods and prime commodities took effect Friday, with over 60 shelf keeping units (SKUs) with adjusted prices, Pascual said.
DTIās previous update on SRPs of basic goods and prime commodities was last Jan. 27.
The DTI chief added there are some products with price increments higher than the inflation rate as their prices were not moving for some years.
He said in one case, the last price adjustment was made in 2014.
āThe price increase is requested upon us then we evaluate. We do our own calculation of the cost of the raw materials and determine what should be the movement,ā Pascual said. (PNA)/PN
