DTI issues nonbinding price guide for school supplies
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has started its price monitoring of school supplies and issued its school supply price guide covering 195 products, days ahead of the opening of classes.
The DTI found that 29 stock keeping units (SKUs) reported with lower prices, 17 items with higher prices, and 101 items with stable prices. The list also introduced 48 new items.
Only a little over a tenth of school supplies tracked by the government posted price drops, with reductions ranging from P1 to P10, the DTI said on Friday.
Minimal costs
SKU is the technical term used by stores to identify and categorize specific inventories by brand, product type and weight.
Among the items with lower prices were notebooks, pad paper and pencils.
Four notebook SKUs saw reductions between P5 and P10, or 20 percent to 37 percent.
Twenty-four SKUs of pad paper dropped by P1 to P6, or 3 to 26 percent.
A single pencil SKU became cheaper by P5, down 25 percent from last year.
“We know how challenging it can be for parents to prepare their children for school, so this price guide is our way of easing that burden, making sure students can return to the classroom equipped, confident and ready to learn without putting too much strain on the family budget,” Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said in a statement.
The DTI’s price guide for school supplies covers 195 SKUs across 12 product categories. But unlike basic commodities, which can be subject to a “maximum suggested retail price” and are subject to fines when exceeded, school supplies vendors can set their own prices.
But the list, which appears to focus on elementary pupils in public schools, excludes tuition and books, specially for those in private schools, which are outside of the powers of the DTI.
