No price hike for laundry detergents – P&G

Manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) said Thursday there will be no price increase for laundry detergents this year.

“Under normal circumstances, we don’t have any plans whatsoever of increasing the prices,” P&G Philippines president James M. Lafferty said.

Earlier, the Soap and Detergent Association of the Philippines (SDAP) said there will be no increase in prices for laundry detergents this year after the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) decided to lift the import duty on one of the major ingredient for making soaps.

“The removal of the tariff will completely stop price increases for the year,” SDAP vice president Alfonso C. Supetran said in an interview. The tariff has forced local soap manufacturers to buy the raw material 40 to 50 percent higher than the actual price, Supetran said.

The last time soap manufacturers increased their prices was in September last year when they raised the cost of detergent by five percent. Supetran said soap manufacturers usually adjust the price upward twice a year, but with the recent decision, prices will remain steady for the rest of the year.

Two months ago, Lafferty said P&G has even lowered the price of Mr. Clean by 30 percent.

Earlier, the DTI has issued an order dismissing the application for a definitive general safeguard measures against imported STPP-TG as the earlier imposed safeguard measure expired.

“If the safeguard remained in place, there will be a price increase,” Lafferty explained.

DTI said it has decided to remove the tariff because the imposition of the definitive safeguard measure does not serve the condition of public interest.