ILOILO City – Food inflation in Western Visayas rose to 7.4 percent in June 2024 from 7.3 percent in May of the same year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) – Regional Statistical Services Office 6 showed.
Food inflation refers to the rise in the prices of food products over time.
It can significantly impact households, especially those with lower incomes, as a larger portion of their budget is spent on essential items like food.
Food inflation in June 2023 was recorded at 8.6 percent, according to the PSA.
The acceleration of food inflation in June 2024 was due to faster annual growth in the index of meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals with 13.2 percent inflation rate in June 2024 from 11.2 percent in May 2024.
This was followed by the fruits and nuts food group with 5.8 percent inflation rate from 3.6 percent in May.
Milk, other dairy products and egg food groups also contributed to the uptrend with 2.7 percent inflation rate in June from 2.1 percent in May.
Higher inflation rates were also noted in the following food groups:
* cereals and cereal products – 15.8 percent from 15.7 percent
* vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses – 0.6 percent from 0.1 percent
* ready-made food and other food products – 6.3 percent from 5.5 percent
In contrast, lower inflation rates were observed in the indices of the following food groups:
* fish and other seafood – -2 .0 percent from 0.2 percent;
* oils and fats – -2.0 percent from -1.6 percent
* sugar, confectionery and desserts – -3.5 percent from -3.3 percent
Food had a share of 60.1 percent or 2.95 percentage points to Western Visayas’ headline inflation rate in June 2024.
The top three food groups with the highest contribution to food inflation of 7.4 percent during the month were the following:
* cereals and cereal products with 73.5 percent share or 5.44 percentage points
* meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals with 23.0 percent share or 1.70 percentage points
* ready-made food and other food products with 3.2 percent share or 0.24 percentage point./PN
