The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday, 14 August 2018, refuted the claim of Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) that 70 to 113 percent of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPC) increased price from January 2018 to present.

Based on its official data, DTI said 153 out of 241 shelf keeping units (SKUs) retained its prices in the market equivalent to about 63 percent of the total BNPC.

The increase in prices is seen only for goods such as canned pork, meat, and fish, processed milk, and candles, excepting all other BNPC. Likewise, not all brands increased.

The price increases of the said goods is an after-effect of the increase in the world prices of raw materials used for production such as imported meat, tin plates, packaging and labeling paper, and paraffin wax, a vital component in producing candles, according to DTI.

DTI Undersecretary for Consumer Protection Group Atty. Ruth B. Castelo also said that the current global oil prices and peso devaluation contributed to BNPC price increase.

“We understand that LKI is at the forefront of advocating the rights of consumers and in ensuring that the public always has access to commodities that have fair prices, while it has always been the DTI’s mandate to make sure that there is no profiteering and that consumers are protected from any excessive pricing of BNPCs. Since we have a common objective, we would appreciate if consumer organizations like LKI validate data from DTI before releasing it to the media to prevent misinformation and cause unnecessary alarm to consumers whom they claim to protect. First and foremost in our advocacy is the protection of consumers against wrong information,” said Castelo.

The Expanded Suggested Retail Price was implemented on 16 July 2018, where an additional 55 SKUs were added to the basic necessities list and 24 more to the prime commodities llist that are being monitored by the DTI. With this, the Department now monitors 174 basic necessities from the initial 119, and 67 from the former 43 prime commodities.

The DTI continues to assure the consuming public that through its intensified price monitoring efforts, it is committed in protecting their welfare by ensuring that basic and prime goods are sold in the market at prices that are not grossly in excess of their true worth which is prohibited under the Price Act.