The country’s inflation rate in January 2025 remained flat as declining rice prices offset the rise in costs of other food products, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday, February 05.
Data from the PSA showed that the Philippines’ headline inflation, or the overall increase in the prices of goods and services, stood at 2.9% in January, matching the previous month’s rate but slightly higher than the 2.8% in January 2024.
Core inflation, which excludes unpredictable food and energy costs, also slowed to an annual rate of 2.6% in January, down from 2.8% in December.
The country’s average inflation rate in 2024 stood at 3.2%, within the government’s target range of 2% to 4%.
For January alone, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased faster to 3.8% compared to 3.4% the previous month.
Prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco also increased to 3.5% from 3.1%, while transport costs also grew slightly faster at 1.1%, up from 0.9%.
Food prices alone climbed to 4% in January, up from 3.5% in the previous month, meaning that meals became more expensive compared to December.
PSA attributed the increase in food prices to the cost of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses. Inflation on these items jumped to 21.1% in January, up from 14.2% in December 2024.
Another factor was the quicker rise in prices for fish, seafood, and meat., which also contributed to the overall increase in food inflation.
Tomatoes experienced the sharpest price increase in January 2024, with inflation jumping to 155.7%, up from 120.8% in December 2024.
According to the PSA, the price of Kasim (pressed pork) climbed by around 5.63 percent year-on-year to P337.38 per kilo in January 2025 from P329.47 per kilo from P319.39 during the same month last year.
The price also increased month-on-month by 2.40% from P329.47 in December 2024.
“Ang reason dyan of course we are experiencing yung ASF in certain areas kaya nagkaroon tayo ng increase sa price ng pork,” PSA Chief Dennis Claire Mapa said in a briefing.
On the other hand, rice prices dropped by 2.3%, the biggest decline since June 2020, when it fell by 2.8%. This means rice became cheaper during this period.
PSA said the average price of regular milled rice fell to P48.25 per kilogram in January this year, down from PHP49.65 per kilogram in January 2024.
Similarly, the price of well-milled rice dropped to P54.14 per kilogram from P54.91 per kilogram in January of the previous year, while special rice also decreased to P63.13 per kilogram from P63.90 per kilogram.
“In fact, mas malaking pagbagsak niya sa areas outside the National Capital Region. Kasi ito ay galing sa about average of P50.46 for the full year 2024. At ngayong January 2025 ay nasa P48.28 na lang. Ganoon din sa (National Capital Region),” Mapa said.
“So yung lahat ng mga commodity items, may nakikita tayo na nagsisimula na naman siyang talagang bumaba yung level ng presyo per kilo of rice,” Mapa added.
Despite the drop in rice prices, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the government remains committed to implementing proactive measures to reduce the cost of rice further and make it more affordable.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan stated that declaring a food security emergency enables the release and sale of rice buffer stocks from the National Food Authority at reduced prices. He also noted that typhoons last year contributed to a rise in national food inflation, which increased to 4% in January 2025, up from 3.5% in December 2024.
“We remain vigilant and proactive in anticipating and addressing future developments, whether upside or downside risks, unforeseen or otherwise. (The) resiliency of our agri-food systems will be one of our most important goals to ensure low and stable prices for all Filipinos,” Balisacan said. (TCSP)
