Price of sardines, other commodities, spike

The price of the staple food of many Filipinos under the poverty line — sardines — along with other food items have gone up, the second time to do so, since the start of the year.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Trade Assistant Secretary for the Consumer Protection Group, Amanda Nograles said that the Department of Trade and Industry has approved the price increase of four out of 15 stock-keeping units of sardines, from P2.69 to P2.73, or a 14 to 15 percent increase from the suggested retail price or SRP released last February 2023.

Also, an SKU out of five SKUs of powdered milk showed an increase of 9 percent, with a price change of P6 compared to the previous SRP.

Meanwhile, four out of 10 SKUs of toilet soap also posted an increase of 10 percent with a P1.50 price change.

Price adjustments

The price adjustments of said commodities were approved last 17 January 2024, but only announced on 24 January, Wednesday.

Nograles said that there are price adjustment notifications from other manufacturers that the Department is currently studying.

Earlier, price adjustments have been approved for three of 13 SKUs of coffee and six of 19 SKUs of salt.