Prices of basic necessities and prime commodities will likely rise in the first three months of 2024, a senior Trade department official said.
Speaking on the "Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon" program on the state-owned PTV network, Trade Assistant Secretary Amanda Nograles said the adjustments would involve products such as canned sardines, processed milk, condensed milk, bread, coffee, instant noodles, salt, laundry soap, bottled water, corned beef, beef loaf, meat loaf and condiments, among others.
"When January 2024 arrives, we will focus on the suggested retail price," she said in Filipino, adding that many manufacturers had filed notices that they would be hiking prices.
Nograles said notices covering 63 items had so far been received from 80 manufacturers since the first quarter of 2023.
"As early as the first quarter of 2023, we already received many [notices] but we were able to prevail on them not to raise prices during the year," she added in the vernacular.
The adjustments remain pending, she said, saying prices were still being discussed and that the Trade department was still working to ensure that the hikes would be minimal.
Approvals will be issued one at a time and will be collated in an update to the suggested retail price bulletin, which Nograles noted was last revised in February 2023.
Source: Manila Times