Prices of Christmas food items up 7% - DTI exec

As Christmas nears, the government has observed a five to seven percent price increase on food items commonly served during the Noche Buena or the occasion celebrated during Christmas eve. Victorio Dimagiba, director of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection, said prices of some food items went up by as much as P5 compared to Christmas 2006. “Nagtaasan mga 5 to 7 percent, siguro maximum P5 compared sa presyo niya noong nakaraang Pasko, because nagtaas ang demand nagtaas ang presyo ng Noche Buena products (Prices of these goods went up by 5 to 7 percent, about P5 higher compared to their prices in Christmas 2006. This is because of the high demand for Noche Buena products)," Dimagiba said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said these products included cheese, ham, pasta, noodles and cream, as well as bread. Dimagiba described the price hike as “artificial," caused by high demand during the season. But Dimagiba said the government expected the prices to “level off" after the Christmas holidays, once the Noche Buena is over. “Pagkatapos ng Pasko magle-level off ang mga ‘yan (After the holidays we expect the prices to level off)," he said. Meanwhile, QTV reported that Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, and Trade Secretary Peter Favila (trade) inspected prices of food items in Metro Manila markets on Saturday. “Wala na, ganoon ang pricing noon (I don’t think the prices will go any higher)," Yap said of prices of food items. Favila added, “Babalik na ang presyo sa dating level (We expect prices to go down to former levels after the holidays)." - GMANews.TV