AKLAN – This province witnessed a notable spike in inflation, reaching 4.9% in April 2024.
Latest economic report showed that the increase marks a significant jump compared to the 3.8% recorded in March 2024, but remains lower than the 6.8% inflation reported in April 2023.
The surge in inflation is primarily attributed to rising prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which escalated to 10.1% in April from 6.6% in March. Rice, among food and non-alcoholic beverages, significantly contributed to faster inflation having 28.7 percent in March to a staggering 35.5 percent in April.
Fluctuations in prices were also observed across various food commodities, including fish and seafood that inflated from -11.9 percent inflation in March 2024 to -6.4 percent in April 2024 and vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses that went up to -3.4 percent inflation in April 2024 from -10.7 percent in March 2024.
Sugar, confectionery, and desserts experienced a decrease of 7.2 percent, while ready-made food and other food products NEC saw an inflation rate of 2.3 percent, and oils and fats experienced a 0.5 percent inflation rate, all showing a more rapid increase this month compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, other food items either saw a slowdown in their rate of increase or maintained their inflation rate from the previous month.
Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance followed food and non-alcoholic beverages among all major commodity groups. It increased to 0.4 percent inflation during the reference month compared to -0.2 percent inflation in the past month. Restaurants and accommodation services ranked third as it increased to 7.1 percent inflation from 6.8 percent a month ago.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which reflects the overall change in a representative basket of goods and services since the base year 2018, rose from 119.0 in April 2023 to 124.8 in April 2024. This indicates a growing burden on consumers, who now require an additional P248 to afford the same 1000-peso worth of goods and services from 2018. Consequently, the purchasing power of the peso has decreased from 84 centavos in the previous year to 80 centavos in the current month.
These economic indicators have significant implications for decision-making processes for planners, financial markets, businesses, and consumers alike. Strategic responses will be necessary to mitigate the effects of inflation on various sectors of the economy./PN
