DTI says prices of select school supplies down from 2024 levels

Prices of select school supplies have dropped from levels seen a year ago due to lower costs of production and raw materials, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said over the weekend, with two weeks to go before the school year officially starts.

According to the DTI, the agency has monitored some 29 items that have recorded price declines of P1 to P10 from their 2024 prices, including notebooks, pad papers, and pencils, among others.

“Siguro ‘yung cost of production nila bumaba rin tsaka ‘yung mga raw materials. Iilan ilan lang ‘yung tumaas,” he said in Vonne Aquino's report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

(Maybe their cost of production decreased, along with the prices of raw materials. Just a few posted increases.)

This comes as DTI officials over the weekend conducted monitoring of sales of school supplies in Divisoria and in malls, ahead of the opening of the school year on June 16, 2025.

Monitoring found that sellers have followed the DTI price guide, which covers 195 stock keeping units (SKUs) in 12 categories based on consultations with manufacturers.

Trade Secretary Cristina Roque on Sunday also assured that prices of basic goods, including those usually being brought by students to school as snacks, remain unchanged.

“These still no price increases for basic necessities and prime commodities,” she said in the same report.— Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News