Price cap imposition on rice eases food inflation — NEDA

A National Economic and Development Authority official on Saturday said the Marcos administration's imposition of the price cap on rice last September helped ease the food inflation in the country.

In a news forum on Saturday, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon cited the improving inflation rate, which further eased to 4.1 percent in November from 4.9 percent in October.

Edillon added that food inflation at the national level decelerated further to 5.8 percent in November 2023 from 7.1 percent the previous month.

"This is good news, especially with regard to the food items that we are monitoring — the prices of pork meat, sugar and vegetable went down," she said.

Edillon attributed the slowdown in importation to tightening supply in the world market which caused the increasing cost of rice.

"Other countries are bracing for the impact of El Niño. But we think because they're already prepared for it, it will be corrected eventually," she said.

Edillon said the price cap in September contributed to the lower inflation rate.

"These prices were actually as of November and we know that it was harvest season towards the end of September and October. So, yes, these are combined factors," she added.