Prices during Christmas expected to remain stable

Filipinos may not have to spend more for "noche buena" this Christmas as the prices of foodstuff associated with that Yuletide tradition are likely to remain stable, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Cuison Maglaya said during a meeting by the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) that prices of pasta, tomato sauce and cheese barely moved compared to the prices in December last year.

The prices of mayonnaise and fruit cocktail did not post any significant increase compared to prices in 2004, the DTI official said.

Prices of manufactured and processed goods, the DTI said, have also remained generally stable in the last three months particularly for canned sardines, luncheon meat, meat loaf, instant noodles and condiments.

To assure the sufficiency of chicken supply, the Department of Agriculture has already allowed the importation of five million kilos of chicken leg quarters from Canada and the US.

Furthermore, 500,000 day-old chicks would also be imported from Malaysia.

Thus, the expected retail price of imported chicken would likely be lower than the current wet market price of P110 to 120 per kilogram.

Prices of pork and beef remained the same for the past month, the DTI said.

The prices of bangus, tilapia and galunggong also remained stable.

The supply of vegetables has normalized after the disruption caused by typhoon "Milenyo."

The prices of rice and cooking oil are stable, the DTI said, while the price of sugar has even gone down by P2.

The DTI, Maglaya assured, would continue to monitor prices in the wet markets to prevent overpricing and violations of the Price Tag Law.