Increases in prices of food products slowed in Q2 -PSA report

MANILA  -Prices of food products rose at a slower pace in the second quarter of 2023 with all commodity groups registering more muted increases as the agricultural value chain has yet to fully stabilize.

In its latest report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the producer price index (PPI) for agriculture decelerated to 12 percent from April to June compared to 15 percent in the same period a year ago.

The latest reading was also lower than 24.7 percent recorded in the first quarter of this year.  This brings year-to-date average growth rate of PPI for agriculture to 18 percent.

“Producer prices continue to surge in 2023 indicating that measures to address shortages in supply have yet to stabilize supply chains and improve production,” Nicholas Antonio Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank in Manila, said in a message.

“Thus we’ll likely still see inflation at the PPI and CPI (consumer price index) level for as long as we see meaningful improvement in production and supply chain management,” he added.

Crops, livestock and poultry

Among the major commodity groups, the PPI for crops exhibited an uptrend trend but livestock and poultry as well as fisheries registered decreases.

The price index of crops reached 18.8 percent from 16.6 percent year-on-year, with fruit vegetables incurring the biggest decline of 24.3 percent.

On the other hand, commercial crops sustained the largest surge at 29.8 percent while increments were observed in the following: cereals, rootcrops, beans and legumes, condiments, leafy vegetables and fruits.

The PPI for livestock and poultry recorded an annual decline of 5.1 percentage points from 13.1 percent previously.