Food maker Alaska Milk Corporation said it is prioritizing the nourishment of Filipino children over imposing huge price adjustments on their milk brand despite the economic uncertainties happening in the country and in the world.

Tarang Gupta, managing director of Alaska Milk Corporation said the company is steadfast in focusing on its core purpose to provide affordable nutrition to Filipinos, despite Alaska not being insulated from the current supply chain and inflation crises.

"We keep modulating our pricing on how the economics are. At this moment in time, we have taken some price increases but are in constant discussion with the Department of Trade and Industry. Our objective is to keep bringing affordable nutrition but also in such a way that the organization can sustain these costs, but at the same time, it is something that our consumers can afford. It's always a balancing act that we work with DTI very closely," Gupta told reporters.

He said in terms of pricing, Alaska is considering multiple factors, which are the global supply chain situation, dairy goods prices worldwide, the impact of foreign exchange, and the capability of consumers to pay.

"So, thus it is a constant calculation due to multiple factors, but also closely interacting with the DTI. Although our products are predominantly produced… evaporated milk, condensed milk, or powdered milk, the raw materials are predominantly imported. So that impacts immediately with the foreign exchange rate," he said.

Last 12 August, the DTI updated the suggested retail prices of prime commodities, maintaining the prices of 151 Stock Keeping Units or 69.27 percent of prices.

On the other hand, 67 products adjusted their SRPs due to rising prices of raw materials and packaging and other costs globally.

Processed milk is among the products that have increased its prices by 3 to 10 percent, along with canned sardines in tomato sauce increasing by 6 percent.

Excellence center
Meanwhile, Alaska Milk, as part of its integral business and purpose to contribute to food security, Alaska puts up the Philippine-Netherlands Dairy Excellence Center.