(Food prices, utility costs drive sharp increase as peso purchasing power declines)

Oriental Mindoro’s inflation rate climbed to 2.6 percent in October 2024, marking a huge increase from September’s 1.4 percent, primarily driven by rising food prices and utility costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported today.

The provincial rate matched the MIMAROPA regional average but remained slightly above the national inflation rate of 2.3 percent.

Despite the month-over-month increase, October’s figure represents a substantial decline from the 5.6 percent recorded in the same month last year.

The surge was primarily led by food and non-alcoholic beverages, which contributed more than half (53.6 percent) to the overall inflation rate.

The food sector saw inflation accelerate to 3.1 percent in October from 1.1 percent in September, with several major commodities showing marked increases.

Meat products recorded the sharpest price increase in the food category, jumping to 10.9 percent from 8.7 percent in September.

Fruits and nuts followed with a 16.3 percent increase, up from 12.9 percent.

Rice, a staple in most households, saw inflation rise to 2.7 percent from 1.6 percent.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels emerged as the second-largest contributor to inflation, accounting for 32.1 percent of the total increase.

The sector’s inflation rate rose to 4.4 percent from 1.6 percent in September, with electricity, gas and other fuels showing a notable 10.1 percent increase.

Some commodity groups showed improvement.

The transport sector recorded a slower decline at -2.6 percent compared to -3.6 percent in September.

Restaurant and accommodation services saw inflation ease to 4.3 percent from 8.0 percent.

Several sectors maintained stable rates from September, including alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 2.2 percent, clothing and footwear at 1.5 percent, and education services at 0.5 percent.

The rising prices have impacted consumer purchasing power in the province.

The purchasing power of the peso declined to 0.73 in October 2024 from 0.75 in October 2023, effectively reducing consumers’ buying capacity.

PSA Oriental Mindoro noted that the province’s average inflation rate from January to October 2024 stands at 2.9 percent, indicating a relatively stable price environment compared to the previous year’s higher rates.

The report shows some food items experienced price decreases, with corn declining by 5.1 percent, fish and seafood by 2.1 percent, and vegetables and tubers by 4.1 percent.

However, these decreases were not sufficient to offset the overall upward trend in food prices.