Grocery prices to remain stable until end of year - DTI

Prices will remain stable in grocery stores until the end of the year, manufacturers and supermarket associations said yesterday.

The Philippine Association of Supermarkets Inc. (PASI) and the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association (PAGASA) have assured the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that prices will remain stable until yearend because they are aiming to perk up sales rather than increasing prices.

“Unnecessarily increasing prices of goods will be a definite loss to the retailer, given the competition and a very price-conscious consuming public,” Trade Secretary Peter Favila said in a statement.

However, prices of Christmas goods already went up during the second week of December as demand for these products increased. 

“It’s the law of supply and demand. Once the demand increases and the supply remains constant, price naturally increases,” PAGASA president Steven Cua said.

Cua said they expect demand to pick up in December in spite of the slowdown in the global economy.

On the average, he said they expect a family with four children to spend P600 to P800 for Noche Buena.

The difference this year, however, is the increase in demand for substitute products.

“Because of the times, people may opt to buy Eden cheese instead of queso de bola and canned meat products instead of ham,” he said. “Definitely we will see more wise spending. Consumers will be more selective.”

The price of canned and packaged goods will no longer go up this year because it already increased, Cua added.

In fact, the price of canned fruit cocktail in supermarkets already went up by 10.5 percent.

Cua advised consumers to be creative in their purchases and not limit their shopping list to ham, Vienna sausage, queso de bola, chestnuts, and goods whose prices are expected to rise.

Meanwhile, DTI reminded consumers to be vigilant by checking if the products are priced within the Suggested Retail Price (SRP).

It encouraged consumers to inspect product labels, and to look for the Product Standard (PS) and the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) mark when buying products that are required to undergo mandatory product certification.

“The best way to get value for money is through vigilance. For instance, to help the government temper sudden increase in the prices, especially for seasonal or Noche Buena products, consumers are encouraged to compare the retail prices against the SRP published by DTI,” Favila said.

“I have directed our market monitoring teams to call the attention of retailers who are selling products higher than the SRP submitted to us by manufacturers. If the retailer says that the manufacturer was the one who was giving the goods higher than the SRP, then we will summon the manufacturer to justify the increase,” he added.