Century Pacific eyes price hikes

Century Pacific Food Inc. is keeping the door open for additional price increases this year as rising input and distribution costs continue to pressure margins, although management said any adjustments would remain measured to protect affordability for consumers.

Speaking during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday, executive chair Christopher Po said Century Pacific implemented average price increases of about 3 percent across its product portfolio in the latter half of May. This, after holding prices steady for the past two years despite mounting cost pressures.

The increase was kept below the country’s inflation rate of 6.87 percent at the time as the canned food maker sought to balance profitability with its role of making food accessible and affordable to Filipino households.

“We understand that part of our role is really making food accessible and affordable,” Po said.

He said the company was still evaluating whether to pass on additional costs to consumers, noting that the recent easing in oil prices following the de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East could help temper some pressures.

Teodoro Po, president and CEO of Century Pacific, said the company had deliberately taken a cautious approach to pricing, closely monitoring consumer purchasing power and sentiment before making any adjustments.

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Executive vice president Gregory Banzon added that management was guided by what consumers could “realistically afford” as well as the movement of key input costs.

The company earlier said it was rolling out “measured price increases” to cushion the impact of rising raw material and distribution expenses.