The country’s
headline inflation rate rose
to 5.3 percent in August
2023 from the 4.7 percent
recorded in the previous
month. This brings the
year-to-date inflation rate
to 6.6 percent, higher than
the Development Budget
Coordination Committee
(DBCC) assumption of 5.0
to 6.0 percent for full year
2023.
“The government
is resolute in its commitment to mitigate the impact of inflation and help
protect our consumers, retailers, and farmers. While
we are seeing a slight uptick, our inflation rate assumption of 5 to 6 percent
for full year 2023 remains
doable,” Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno
said.
The main contributors to the August headline inflation are Food and
non-alcoholic beverages,
contributing 3.1 percentage points (ppt) to the 5.3
percent headline inflation;
Restaurants and accommodation services (0.7
ppt); and Housing, water,
electricity, gas and other
fuels (0.5 ppt).
Food inflation for
August 2023 rose to 8.2
percent from the 6.3 percent recorded in the previous month and the 6.5
percent in August of last
year.
In terms of food
commodities, rice and
vegetables contributed
largely to headline inflation
following recent typhoons
during the Habagat season.
“To manage upward pressures in the
price of rice, the imposition of price control on rice
through Executive Order
No. 39 serves as a shortterm measure against
non-competitive practices
by market players. Price
controls, when carefully
calibrated and closely implemented, are effective in
the near term,” Secretary
Diokno said.
The government
will implement measures
to mitigate the concerns
of rice retailers and farmers and at the same time
adopt a comprehensive
approach to ensure that
the rice supply remains
sufficient at lower prices
and greater competition is
promoted in the rice industry.
Inflation for nonfood items rose mainly due
to the increase in housing
rentals, food and beverage
serving services, as well
as passenger transport
services due to the recent
oil price hikes, attributed
to ongoing Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC+) supply cuts.
The government
has been undertaking
measures to mitigate nonfood inflation by tackling
energy and water demand
management measures;
supply management measures; managing cost of
electricity; careful review
of hike petitions; monitoring of the imposition of
pass-through fees for delivery trucks; and timely
and continued monitoring
of non-food inflation indicators.
To help protect
the vulnerable sectors,
the government will focus on the completion of
its targeted cash transfer
(TCT) program, as well as
its fuel subsidy program
for qualified public utility
vehicle (PUV) drivers and
operators. Meanwhile, the
government shall also expedite the roll-out of the
fuel discount program for
the agriculture and fisheries sector, wherein more
than 312,000 farmers and
fisherfolk shall benefit.
The Inter-agency Committee on Inflation
and Market Outlook (IACIMO) remains on top of
monitoring the developments in food and nonfood inflation. It will also
closely monitor the implementation of EO 39 to help
ensure that the short-term
measure will be effective.
“The IAC-IMO
continues to help the national government identify
and implement various
measures that will mitigate
inflationary pressures in a
timely and relevant manner,” Secretary Diokno
said. DOF.GOV
