DTI set to release Noche Buena price guide | Inquirer Business

Source: INQUIRER.net
Author: Alden M. Monzon

MANILA -The government's price guide for Noche Buena products is expected to be issued soon, an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Friday, amid pending price hike petitions for holiday ham that could go up by as much as 4 percent.

"(It will be out) by the second week of November because not all of the manufacturers have submitted their position and prices," Trade Undersecretary Maria Blanca Kim Bernardo-Lokin told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference in Makati.

Bernardo-Lokin added that about 80 percent of the manufacturers that produce goods included in the DTI's yearly Noche Buena price guide have submitted their position to them so far.

Asked whether the public should expect an increase in the prices of food staples this holiday season, Bernardo-Lokin said she was able to get some support from the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) to hold off price hikes this year.

FFCCCII members include local retailers, merchant associations, and food manufacturers.

Last Monday, Trade Assistant Secretary Mary Jean T. Pacheco said makers of some meat products were asking for a 4- percent increase in the prices of their products due to rising production costs.

Pacheco said they will have more meetings with local manufacturers of Noche Buena products to discuss their petition for a price increase.

Last year, some ingredients for spaghetti and fruit salad -which are among many popular Christmas staples in the Philippines, saw their prices increase in the run-up to the holidays.

According to the DTI Noche Buena price guide in November last year, the least expensive brand of an 800-gram spaghetti pasta in local markets back then costs P69, P10 more than what it did during the previous year.

Meanwhile, the least expensive brand of a 900-gram spaghetti sauce was priced at P66.00, marking a more than P6 increase from its price of P59.85 in 2021.

On the other hand, a 165-gram filled cheese was selling for P55 during that period, P5 more than its price tag of P49.50 in 2021.

As for fruit salad, a 432-gram medium-sized can of the least expensive fruit cocktail brand costs P56, while a 250-milliliter pack of all-purpose cream costs P63 during the same time last year.

Compared to their prices in 2021, the same, similar-sized and brand of fruit cocktail was priced at P50, while the same all-purpose cream costs P59