No price increase for basic goods until April 30, says DTI
There will be no price increase for basic necessities and prime commodities until April 30, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque announced on Wednesday.
This extends the earlier announcement by two weeks, as the country continues to face the impact of the Middle East conflict on fuel prices.
“Last week, the announcement was until April 16, but we met last Monday with the manufacturers and they gave us up to April 30 of no price increase,” Roque said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay with Marichu Villanueva.
“Maybe they [manufacturers] also want to give their own share to help or to assist the consumers. Number two, they may have inventories still available in the supermarkets and groceries, so no logistics movement there too,” she added.
The price hold covers 205 products currently listed under the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) stockkeeping units, including canned goods, bread, bottled water, candles, and detergent, among others.
“It is important for the consumers to take hold of this list so they know which are the products that are part of the list that has no price increase,” Roque said.
Extended deadline
However, manufacturers have yet to commit to extending the price hold beyond April 30.
But power consumers in Luzon will have to pay more for their electricity this April, as the average spot market price in the island surged by a hefty 52.5 percent due to thinner supply.
In a briefing on Wednesday, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said that power spot prices in Luzon jumped to P4.10 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in April from last month’s P2.69 per kWh (kWh).
This covers the Feb. 26 to March 25 billing period that will be reflected in consumers’ April bills.
“[The increase was] brought about by a slight decrease in the overall system supply and an increase in the system demand,” IEMOP corporate planning and communication manager Arjon Valencia said.
IEMOP is the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), an avenue where power is traded between producers and distributors to boost their supply.
Based on IEMOP’s latest data, Luzon’s supply dipped by 1.3 percent to 14,103 megawatts (MW), while demand climbed by 4.7 percent to 9,444 MW.
Among the three regions, only Luzon logged an increase in rates.
The Visayas, meanwhile, saw WESM prices soften by 5.4 percent to P5.08 per kWh from P5.37 per kWh.
Mindanao logged the biggest slash in power spot prices, dropping by 15.7 percent to P4.43 per kWh from P5.25 per kWh. Its demand inched up by 1.3 percent to 2,054 MW, while the region’s supply fell by 3.8 percent to 3,318 MW.
Overall, the average electricity spot price systemwide increased by 23 percent to P4.31 per kWh against the previous month’s P3.50 per kWh.
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