Headline Inflation

Oriental Mindoro’s inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households increased to 5.4 percent in December 2024 from 4.2 percent in November 2024. In December 2023, the inflation rate in the province was posted at 4.9 percent. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

Annual Average Inflation

The annual average inflation rate in 2024 for this income group was observed at 4.1 percent, was lower than the 2023 annual average inflation rate of 10.0 percent. (Table 2)

Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of the Headline Inflation

The uptrend in overall inflation in December 2024 was primarily influenced by the faster annual increment in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 7.2 percent during the month from 4.7 percent in November 2024.

In addition, higher annual rates were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:

a. food and non-alcoholic beverages, 5.8 percent from 5.4 percent;
b. alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 11.1 percent from 5.3 percent;
c. transport, 0.1 percent from -1.7 percent;
d. recreation, sports and culture, 4.2 percent from 3.8 percent; and
e. health, 1.0 percent from 0.9 percent.

In contrast, lower annual growth rates were noted in the indices of furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 0.5 percent in December 2024 from 0.8 percent in November 2024, and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 2.0 percent during the month from 2.4 percent annual increase in November 2024.

The indices of the rest of the commodity groups retained their respective previous month’s annual rates. (Figure 2)

Main Contributors to the December 2024 Overall Inflation

The following commodity groups were the top three contributors to the December 2024 overall inflation for the bottom 30% income households of the province:

a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages with 63.2 percent share or 3.41 percentage points;
b. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 21.1 percentage share or 1.14 percentage point; and
c. Restaurants and accommodation services, 6.3 percent share or
0.34 percentage point.

Food Inflation

Food inflation for the bottom 30% income households in Oriental Mindoro increased to 5.9 percent in December 2024 from 5.5 percent in the previous month. In December 2023, its annual increase was observed at 2.8 percent.

Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of Food Inflation

The increase in food inflation in December 2024 was mainly due to faster annual growth rate in meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals index at 33.6 percent during the month from 22.9 percent in November 2024.

Moreover, higher inflation rates during the month were noted in the following food groups:

a. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 2.5 percent from 2.4 percent;
b. Fish and other seafood, 1.8 percent from -2.2 percent;
c. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 2.3 percent from 1.3 percent;
d. Oils and fats, 10.8 percent from 4.7 percent;
e. Sugar, confectionery and desserts, -2.2 percent from -4.3 percent; and
f. Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c., 5.2 percent from 4.6 percent.

In contrast, lower annual increases were noted in the following food groups:

a. Rice, -1.9 percent from 3.7 percent;
b. Fruits and nuts, 8.9 percent from 13.2 percent; and
c. Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, 6.6 percent from 7.5 percent.

The corn’s index retained its previous month’s annual rate. (Figure 3)

INFLATION RATE BY FOOD GROUP

CHARLYN ROMERO-CANTOS, PhD
(Chief Administrative Officer)
Officer-in-Charge
Oriental Mindoro Provincial Statistical Office

HTD/JGO

TECHNICAL NOTES

Consumer Price Index is an indicator of the change in the average prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

Market Basket is a sample of goods and services, which is meant to represent the totality of all the goods and services purchased by households relative to a base year.

• To determine the commodities that will form the market basket for the 2018-based CPI, the Survey of Key Informants (SKI) was conducted in March 2021. The survey, which was conducted nationwide to store managers, sellers or proprietors, obtained information on the most commonly purchased of goods and availed of services by the households.

• Base year is a reference period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series. The CPI is rebased from base year 2012 to base year 2018.

• Inflation Rate is the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• Purchasing Power of Peso is a measure of the real value of the peso in a given period relative to  chosen reference period. It is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100