PHL economic team to put in ‘immediate’ reforms as inflation hits 9-year high

The government's economic cluster has agreed to introduce "immediate" reforms to address food inflation, which drove the consumer price index (CPI) to nine-year highs in August.

In an emailed statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that a meeting among the members of the economic team was conducted on Wednesday.

Inflation was recorded at 6.4 percent in August, the fastest in over nine years since the 6.6 percent in March 2009.

Th meeting was attended by officials from the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Budget and Management (DBM), Finance (DOF), and Trade and Industry (DTI).

Officials from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Bureau of Treasury (BTr), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) were also present,

The agencies agreed to implement reforms to address food inflation particularly, as the food and non-alcoholic beverages index grew by 4.0 percent in August, while the alcoholic beverages and tobacco index surged by 21.9 percent:

• the DA will replicate the issuance of certificates of necessity to allow fish imports to be distributed in wet markets in Metro Manila and nationwide;
• the NFA will release some 4.6 million sacks currently in warehouses, on top of the 2 million sacks to be imported by end-September;
• the economic managers will recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte the issuance of a directive to further simplify and streamline the licensing procedures for rice imports;
• the DTI, the NFA, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and farmer groups will form a monitoring and surveillance team;
• the DA and the DTI will convene poultry producers and set up public markets where producers can sell directly to the end customer;
• the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) will open importation of sugar for direct users; and
• the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will prioritize the release of "essential" food items in the ports.

"The government's economic team has previously announced that inflation is expected to peak in the third quarter before tapering off towards the latter part of the year, and then fall within the government's target by next year," the group's statement added. — BM, GMA News