Poor Filipinos experienced some respite from high commodity prices in 2016, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday showed.
Data showed that average inflation for the bottom 30 percent of the population, or the poorest Filipinos, slowed to 1.4 percent in 2016, from 1.6 percent in 2015.
The PSA said this could be due to the slowdown in the food alone index to 1.7 percent in 2016, from 2.4 percent in 2015.
Poor Filipinos are sensitive to the prices of food. This is because the weight of food in the basket of goods used for the computation of the inflation experienced by the poorest 30 percent is 70 percent against 39 percent for all the households.
Average
The annual average inflation in National Capital Region for the year 2016 advanced by 1.3 percent, after it registered an annual average decline of 0.3 percent in 2015.
Areas outside the National Capital Region (AONCR) slowed down to 1.4 percent in 2016, after a 1.6- percent rise in 2015.
Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter, the poor saw higher inflation at 2 percent, from the 1.4 percent posted in the third quarter of 2016 and 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015.
“This was due to higher annual markups in the indices of food, beverages and tobacco [FBT] and fuel, light and water [FLW],” the PSA said.
The country’s annual change in the food alone index jumped by 2.2 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016. Its annual growth in the previous quarter was registered at 1.6 percent.
Commodity prices increased 3.6 percent in Metro Manila, higher than the 1.6 percent posted in the third quarter of 2016 and the contraction of 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015.
In AONCR, prices inched up by 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. In the previous quarter, its growth was recorded at 1.4 percent and, in same quarter in 2015, 0.8 percent.
On a quarterly basis, inflation experienced by the poor increased 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, from 0.6 percent in the third quarter last year.
Spike
“UPWARD price adjustments in the heavily weighted food items, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and fish, primarily pushed up the quarter-on-quarter inflation of the CPI [consumer price index] for bottom 30-percent income households in the Philippines by 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. Prices of LPG and kerosene also went up during the quarter,” the PSA said.
Monitoring the movement of prices, particularly for the bottom 30 percent, addresses indicators under Global or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 and 2, which the Philippines adopted this year.
The United Nations said Goal 1 aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, while Goal 2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
The SDGs are composed of 17 goals and 169 targets, which need to be achieved by 2030. The set of goals were adopted by 189 countries in September 2015.