MALASIQUI: Ilocos Region’s July 2024 inflation rate accelerated to 3.3 percent from 2.8 percent last June, driven by the faster upticks in the food, educational services, and transport indices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Ilocos Region reported Friday.
In a virtual forum, PSA Ilocos Region senior statistical specialist Mellem Borja said inflation of food and non-alcoholic beverages posted a faster rate of 7.2 percent in July from 6.5 percent last June.
The rate of price increases of educational services jumped to 6.4 percent from 4.5 percent; clothing and footwear from 3.9 percent to 4.0 percent; transport from 2.3 percent to 3.4 percent; and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel from -3.2 percent to 3 percent.
Under food and non-alcoholic beverages, which contributed 61.7 percent in the uptrend of the inflation in the region, vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses registered 6.8 percent inflation rate; fish and other seafood, 1 percent; and meat and other parts
of slaughtered land animals, 2.6 percent.
On the other hand, inflation of rice decelerated to 23.6 percent from 25 percent, and corn, from 37.5 to 35.6 percent.
Borja said transport contributed 20.9 percent to the inflation uptrend, with higher prices of gasoline as the main driver.
National Economic and Development Authority Ilocos Region chief of project monitoring and evaluation division Feynon Perez said Super Typhoon Carina and the onset of the rainy season have contributed to the faster inflation rate in the region for July.
‘This is the trend during the rainy season, with calamities or typhoons that might cause the increase in food inflation given that these might affect the supply in the region,’ he said in Filipino.
Perez said the opening of classes also has effects on the educational services inflation since new school fee rates are also being implemented.
“On transport, there were oil price hikes during the first week of July due to events globally, especially because we do not have our own o
il supply source,’ he said in Filipino.
Despite the July 2024 inflation uptick, Perez said the latest inflation figure remains within the government’s 2-4 percent target.
The balance in the supply and demand in the market would be able to control the inflation within the target, he said.
Among the provinces, La Union recorded the highest inflation rate with 4.9 percent followed by Ilocos Norte, 3.3 percent; Pangasinan, 3.1 percent; and Ilocos Sur, 2.4 percent.
Source: Philippines News Agency
