Prices of supermarket goods to go up this week

MANILA, Philippines - Prices of sugar-based products, soaps, shampoo and laundry detergent are expected to go up this week, supermarket executives said over the weekend.

“The increase in price is not isolated to sugar-related products like candies, softdrinks and juices. Prices of some brands of soap and sugar also went up,”Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association, Inc. (PAGASA) president Steven Cua told The Star.

In a telephone interview, Cua said that prices normally go up after the Christmas season because consumers normally don’t notice the price adjustment unlike during the holidays wherein people watch what they buy.

Cua explained that for soaps, shampoos and laundry detergent, the increase is not across the board. He said some Proctor and Gamble (P&G) produced shampoo brands went up by as much as 12 percent. For laundry detergents, the increase was smaller at 10 percent.

As a result of this, Cua advised consumers to carefully review the items that they are buying because some brands and sizes increased their prices while the others did not.

However, Cua said that other brands are expected to follow and increase their prices as well.

With regard to sugar-based products like softdrinks, liquid and powdered juices, Cua said the increase was the result of the worldwide surge in sugar prices. For juices, Cua said the increase was between four to nine percent while there is an eight percent increase in the price of candies.

Bakers have already said that price of loaf bread will increase by P2 while the price of a ten pack pandesal will go up by P1.

At the same time, bakers warned that this may not be the last time they will adjust their prices as flour prices are threatening to rise and sugar prices have not yet stabilized.

Philbaking president Walter Co said that they will increase the price Co reasoned that they have no choice but to increase their prices because sugar now costs between P48 to P50.

He said that the price increase is long overdue. He stressed that they should have implemented a price increase three months ago.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has asked bread makers to try to hold off any price increases. DTI Undersecretary Zenaida C. Maglaya said that they will try to get P43 per kilo sugar for bread makers but Co said this is not enough to temper the pending price increase.