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By Ben Arnold O. De Vera, Researcher
Prices of the majority of basic
commodities are most likely to remain stable until the end of the
third quarter of 2008, Secretary Peter Favila of the Department of
Trade and Industry said Friday.
He had just finished consulting
other government agencies and product producers and sellers during
the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) meeting.
“We don’t see any price
movements from July until September, after which the holiday season
comes, and as what usually happens during that time of year, some
products’ prices would increase,” Favila said.
The Trade department said in a
statement that the current prices would prevail for pan de sal
(Filipinos’ version of rolls) and other bread varieties; meat
products, such as chicken and pork; eggs; fish such as bangus
(milkfish), tilapia and galunggong (scad); vegetables such as
carrots, eggplant, native pechay (a leafy vegetable), okra, tomato
and radish; well-refined and brown sugar; and rice from the National
Food Authority.
Canned goods prices
Prices of canned goods and
processed-meat products, though, are likely to go up.
Trade Undersecretary Zenaida
Maglaya confirmed that manufacturers of these commodities have
proposed price adjustments for July. She said the manufacturers had
cited increases in prices of imported raw materials. According to
Maglaya, many local canneries use cans molded from tin plates bought
abroad.
The Tin Can Makers Association of
the Philippines said a 202-millimeter by 306-millimeter tin can
usually used to pack sardines and luncheon meat now costs P3.40
apiece, from P3.05 in June.
Favila said stiff competition for
raw materials used in steelworks, such as iron ore, which has been
in great demand in China, could lead the local steel industry to
adjusting steel prices. But Maglaya said the Trade department
expects low local demand for steel from the country’s construction
sector in next few months, the so-called lean season.
Price-hike mechanics
During the meeting of the NPCC,
manufacturers and retailers who attended the meeting agreed that
they would first consult the government on potential price increases
for their products. The government would then study the producers’
reasons for their proposed price adjustments. If it deems the
proposal as fair enough to both the manufacturers and retailers and
consumers, it will help announce the price increases to the public.
“The manufacturers have
promised us that they would immediately notify us so that we could
inform the public of price movements,” Favila said. “We don’t
want speculations, they confuse the public,” he added.
Maglaya said most people perceive
that soaring oil prices directly result in increased prices of
goods. Favila mentioned currency adjustments for imported raw
materials and the economic crunch felt worldwide as two other
reasons behind costlier products and services.
Maglaya clarified that the Trade
department is not imposing price controls. She said that except in
Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo, central provinces ravaged by
Typhoon Frank and were placed under a state of calamity, there are
no price restrictions elsewhere in the country.
She pointed out that under the
law, price controls are implemented only when certain areas are
declared as under a state of calamity and when there are
unreasonable price increases. Since no such increases are happening
in the country, imposing price controls is not necessary, Maglaya
said.
Steven Cua, the president of the
retailers’ group Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association,
said they are open to the government’s request for the group to
inform the government ahead of any price adjustments in the goods
they sell. He conceded that consumers have been stretching their
budgets as much as they could, and that manufacturers and retailers
do not want to resort to increasing prices of their goods.
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