PROCESSED meat products in supermarkets may become more expensive following a petition from manufacturers to be allowed to raise prices.
The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) said it has asked the Department of Trade and Industry for an increase of P1.50 to P2.00 per 150-gram can.
PAMPI Vice President Jerome Ong said this will also affect the prices of hotdogs, sausages and similar products.
“Dapat 3-4 pesos ang hike pero dahil nakikiisa kami sa DTI na makapagbenta ng delata sa mas mababang halaga, pumayag kaming babaan,” Ong said.
Ong said the higher cost of imported mechanically deboned meat, the depreciation of the peso, and the war in Ukraine pushed costs up.
“Naintindihan namin lahat talaga nagtataas. Sana aksyunan agad ito ng DTI,” he added.
DTI, meanwhile, said they’re still studying the petition.
“As of this time, DTI continues to study and evaluate request for any price adjustment, tuluy-tuloy ang price adjustment. Kami po laging nagbabalanse, kami sa consumer protection group tinitingnan ang kapakanan ng consumer,” said Ann Claire Cabochan, OIC of the Consumer Protection Group of the Department of Trade and Industry.
After an inspection on Wednesday, Oct. 26, DTI said the prices of most basic necessities were still lower than their SRP in many supermarkets.
“Sa Puregold, almost 72 percent ay mas mababa sa SRP, so dito naman sa Cherry 22 percent mas mababa sa SRP. ‘Yung iba pantay sa SRP,” Cabochan said. (ABS-CBN News)
