President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has attributed the decreasing inflation rate to the improved production of agricultural products in the country. He stressed the need to keep this going to further lower prices.

Marcos underscored that agricultural products are the "biggest part of the inflation rate". Thus, helping the producers of agricultural commodities to improve their production and lower the price was crucial in bringing down inflation.

"All of these, we are trying to put together and I really believe that it's a large part of why the inflation rate has begun to come down," Marcos said in an interview on the sidelines of the Livestock Philippines 2023.

"Now, that we have been able to stabilize the price of sugar by making a very clear schedule of importation, making a very clear schedule of assignment of the importation where it goes to the industrial or if it goes to food. This is the kind of thing that is helping to bring down the inflation rate," he added.

From 6.1 percent in May, inflation slowed to 5.4 percent in June.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the slowdown was primarily attributed to slower food inflation, which declined to 6.7 percent from 7.5 percent in the previous month. Non-food inflation likewise decelerated to 4.1 percent in June from 5.0 percent in May 2023.

The slowdown in food prices was due to slower inflation of meat (0.3 percent  from 3.2percent), eggs and dairy products (11.2 percent from 12.1 percent), and bread and other cereals (11 percent from 11.4 percent).

"That's why doing this, improving the technologies, helping our farmers at both ends of that value chain, there is an advantage because the farmers will make more money because they are spending less, because they are more efficient. At the same time, that price level will translate all the way to the consumer na at least stable)," Marcos said.

The President said the government will continue to strive and keep the inflation rate low through the ways that have been working in the agriculture sector.

"We will try, of course, to continue to bring it down but that requires our success in increasing our production, making it more efficient and again the value chain that I'm always talking about ad infinitum but it's really the answer," he said.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by BETHEENA UNITE

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