Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has assured the public that the country is still on track with its inflation target for 2024 despite a slight uptick in prices in October due to temporary factors such as weather disturbances.

The Philippines’ inflation rate slightly increased to 2.3% in October 2024 from 1.9% in September 2024, but is significantly lower than the 4.9% recorded in October 2023.

The increase was primarily due to higher inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages at 2.9% from 1.4% in the previous month.

This brings the average inflation rate from January to October 2024 to 3.3%, well within the government’s target range of 2% to 4% in 2024.

“Our whole-of-government efforts, including intensive monitoring and mitigation of price increases on food and non-food items, are expected to keep inflation within our target range for the next two years, at least,” Secretary Recto said.

“The slight uptick in our October inflation rate was mainly caused by temporary factors, such as weather disturbances like Severe Tropical Storm Kristine and Super Typhoon Leon. We are on top of ensuring that the affected communities get the help that they need to recover faster from the recent disasters. In fact, the President has mobilized all agencies to quickly deliver relief, rehab, and assistance,” he added.

Rice inflation has accelerated to 9.6% from 5.7% last September mainly due to the base effects from the implementation of Executive Order (EO) No. 39 or the imposition of a mandated price ceiling on rice, which led to an overall price decrease in October of last year. However, the Department of Finance (DOF) expects this to be temporary.

In fact, the retail price of rice has continuously declined since the implementation of EO No. 62 or the reduction of rice tariffs from 35% to 15% in July 2024.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), the average retail price of imported rice for the second half of October 2024 went down by PHP 3.5 per kilogram (kg) from the second half of June 2024. This helped temper the prices of food commodities despite the onslaught of typhoons Kristine and Leon in October.

Overall retail rice prices are expected to further ease in the coming months as more and cheaper imported rice is expected to enter the Philippine market.

Moreover, the DOF is seeing a decline in rice prices in the international market, following the lifting of the export ban of India announced in late September.

To ensure that the government takes advantage of the lower rice tariffs and help all Filipinos, the DOF calls on traders to ensure that reductions in tariffs are being passed on to consumers.

Meanwhile, prices of other food items remain broadly stable, including pork which registered lower inflation of 3.5% from 3.7% in the previous month.

Non-food inflation is also currently on a downtrend. This is the third consecutive month that an easing of non-food inflation was recorded.

Ongoing interventions to address food and non-food inflation

In response to the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) implemented a 60-day price freeze on basic necessities in areas under a state of calamity.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) likewise initiated early harvesting and increased rice buying by the National Food Authority (NFA) to boost rice buffer stocks.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) is expected to pay at least PHP 666.5 million in insurance claims to over 86,000 farmers affected by the severe tropical storm.

To further address the impact of disasters, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is rolling out the Building on Social Protection for Anticipatory Action and Response in Emergencies and Disasters (B-SPARED). It aims to prepare communities ahead of typhoons through social safety nets and capacity-building initiatives.

In terms of interventions against African swine fever, the DA has expanded its vaccination program to include commercial farms and swine herds.

It has also committed to ensuring a sufficient supply of poultry in the local market and facilitating efficient broiler transport while maintaining public health safety standards.

Broad-based measures to mitigate non-food inflation are also in place, such as the staggered implementation of electricity rate hikes; fuel assistance to fisherfolks; and extension of the toll rate hike exemption of trucks catering to agricultural goods until December 31, 2024.