Price hike of over 40 products looms —DTI

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that as of August, at least 43 products from 13 different manufacturers have filed petitions for price increases.

In a "24 Oras" report by Dano Tingcungco and Ivan Mayrina, the DTI assured that all price movements are being closely monitored and verified.

“’Di po namin basta tinatanggap ‘yung binibigay na information sa atin ng manufacturers. Meron po tayong sariling mekanismo para ma-verify natin ‘yan, pati po yung pag-increase ng packaging materials at yung transportation cost, at yung kanyang acquisition cost po for toll packing,” DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said.

The price hike petitions for food products range from 10 centavos to P7, while for non-food, it ranges from P1.50 to P9.75.

“Cost ng raw materials, kapag minsan imported pa 'to. Ito pong mga dahilan, vineverify din 'yan ng DTI,” Castelo said.

DTI said that prices will remain the same until it releases a Suggested Retail Price or SRP bulletin. For areas under a state of calamity, a 60-day price freeze is enforced.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presided over a stakeholders meeting with private sectors to discuss the possible inflation in rice prices due to El Niño and threats to supply.

Another issue raised was the increase in the prices of school supplies such as uniforms and notebooks ahead of the school opening on August 29.

Uniforms have a reported price increase of P10 to 30 due to the lack of fabric.

Notebooks and pads spiked their prices from P4 to 5 per pad due to the lack of stocks in warehouses, the report said.—Jiselle Anne Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News