The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Thursday the prices of most Noche Buena items have remained the same as last year, with only a few items seeing price increases through the end of the year.

In a briefing in Malacañang, DTI Secretary Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque said, however, that for some items their prices increased by up to five percent due to the rising cost of imported goods.

“Some imported products have already increased in price, so they requested an adjustment. We agreed to a modest price increase of less than five percent to ensure that consumers will still have a very merry Christmas,” she said.

Roque noted that there were no price changes in 2023.

The DTI released the Noche Buena Price Guide for 2024 listing the prices of popular ingredients for the Christmas feast, such as canned fruit cocktail, cheese, ham and pasta.

Roque noted that there were no price changes in 2023.

The holiday items that saw price increases, Roque said, included mayonnaise, ham products, pasta noodles, cheese and all-purpose cream.

Meanwhile, the DTI noted that consumer demand for grocery products remained strong.

The Noche Buena feast is a longstanding Filipino tradition celebrated on Christmas Eve in anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Typical dishes include macaroni salad, fruit salad, pasta with red or white sauce, edam cheese or queso de bola, and the centerpiece — ham.