BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The overall inflation rate in Western Visayas rose to 2.7 percent in February 2024 from 2.0 percent in January 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.
In a press conference, Nelida Amolar, PSA Regional Statistics Services 6 officer-in-charge, said the regional average inflation from January to February this year is at 2.3 percent. The inflation rate in February 2023 was higher at 10.8 percent.
Inflation refers to the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, leading to a decrease in purchasing power. Hence, a high inflation rate means that prices are rising rapidly.
Amolar said the top three commodity groups that contributed to the upward inflation trend in the region last month include food and non-alcoholic beverages with 75.8 percent share, or 2.05 percent points; the restaurant and accommodation services with 13.6 percent share, or 0.37 percentage point; and alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 7.9 percent share, or 0.21 percentage point.
She said the main contributor to the uptrend in the region overall was the slower annual decline in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels with a -3.1 percent inflation rate in February 2024 from -5.7 percent in the previous month.
Likewise, Amolar pointed out that the faster annual growth of 4.6 percent during the month from 4.2 percent in January 2024 in the index of food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group also contributed to the acceleration in monthly inflation.
Likewise, she said that another main contributor to the uptrend was the slower annual decline in the transport of -0.4 percent inflation in February from -1.5 percent in January 2024.
The PSA-6 added the higher inflation was also noted in information and communication with 0.7 percent inflation last month from 0.5 percent in the previous month.
The agency identified at least six commodity groups that recorded lower inflation rates in February.
These include alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 7.9 percent from 9 percent; clothing and footwear at 3 percent from 3.2 percent; and furnishing, household equipment, and routine household maintenance at 3.5 percent from 4.7 percent.
The other commodities are health at 2.9 percent from 3.1 percent; recreation, sports and culture at 4.5 percent from 4.8 percent; and restaurant and accommodation services at 5.7 percent from 6.3 percent.
The food inflation in the region rose to 4.7 percent in February 2024 from 4.3 percent in the preceding month. The food inflation in February 2023 was at 12.1 percent.
The agency attributed faster annual growth in the index of cereals and cereal products as the main factor in the rise of inflation in February 2023.
These products include rice, corn, flour, bread, and other bakery products such as pasta products and other cereals which registered a 14.1 percent inflation rate in February 2024 from 11.8 percent in January 2024.
Meat and other parts of slaughtered land-based animals also contributed to an uptrend with an 11.8 percent inflation rate in February 2024, from 10.3 percent in the previous month.
Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses registered a slower year-on-year decline at -13.6 percent in February from the -13.7 percent annual decline in the previous month./PN
