SPECIAL RELEASE

March 2024 Inflation Report of Oriental Mindoro (Base Year: 2018)

Headline Inflation

Oriental Mindoro’s headline inflation or the overall inflation increased to 3.1 percent in March 2024 from 2.1 percent in February 2024. This brings the provincial average inflation from January to March 2024 at 2.6 percent. In March 2023, inflation was higher at 10.0 percent.

Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of the Headline Inflation

The uptrend in the overall inflation in March 2024 was primarily influenced by the higher year-on-year increase in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.6 percent during the month from 1.8 percent in February 2024. In addition, the faster annual increase in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 1.5 percent during the month from 0.6 percent in the previous month, and the slower year-on-year decrease in the index of transport at 1.8 percent in March 2024 from 2.8 percent annual decline in February 2024, contributed to the uptrend.

Moreover, higher inflation rates were also noted in the indices of health at 5.7 percent, recreation, sports and culture at 3.2 percent, and restaurants and accommodation services at 9.8 percent during the month from their respective inflation rates of 5.1 percent, 3.1 percent, and 9.1 percent, respectively.

In contrast, the following commodity groups registered lower annual increments during the month:

• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 6.7 percent from 9.7 percent;

• Clothing and footwear, 4.8 percent from 5.2 percent;

• Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 4.5 percent from 5.3 percent; and

• Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.8 percent from 3.3 percent.

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

Main Contributors to the Headline Inflation

The top three commodity groups contributing to the March 2024 overall inflation of the province were the following:

• Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 51.9 percent share or 1.6 percentage points; 

• Restaurants and accommodation services, 18.2 percentage share or 0.6 percentage point; and

• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 8.8 percentage share or 0.3 percentage point.

Food Inflation

Food inflation in Oriental Mindoro rose to 3.8 percent in March 2024 from 1.9 percent in February 2024. In March 2023, food inflation rate was higher at 10.3 percent.

Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of Food Inflation

The acceleration of food inflation in March 2024 was mainly brought by the faster year-on-year increase in the indices of meat at 1.7 percent and vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 6.7 percent from 3.0 percent and 3.4 percent annual decline, respectively in the previous month. In addition, the index of rice recorded a faster annual increment at 15.5 percent during the month from 14.4 percent in February 2024.

Morever, slower annual decline was noted in the index of corn at 4.4 percent in March 2024 from 5.1 percent annual decline in February 2024, and the index of fruits and nuts at 0.7 percent during the month from 3.4 percent annual decline in the previous month.

On the contrary, lower annual groth rates were noted in the indices of the following food groups during the month:

• Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products and other cereals, 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent;

• Fish and other seafood, -1.7 percent from -0.5 percent;

• Milk, and other dairy products and eggs, -3.6 percent from -2.9 percent;

• Oils and fats, -16.4 percent from -14.6 percent;

• Sugar, confectionery and desserts, -6.8 percent from -5.0 percent, and

• Ready-made food and other food products, 4.8 percent from 5.8 percent.

INFLATION RATE BY FOOD GROUP

Purchasing Power of the Peso

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Oriental Mindoro is at Php 0.75 in March 2024. The PPP was registered at Php 0.77 in March 2023.

As a result, the amount of goods that could be presently purchased by consumers was less than when the PPP was higher. Furthermore, the decrease in PPP was attributed to the higher inflation rate, given that PPP and inflation rate have an inverse relationship.

(SGD) DONNA MARIE D. MOBE
(Supervising Statistical Specialist)
Officer-in-Charge
Oriental Mindoro Provincial Statistical Office

TECHINICAL 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. 

• The commodities in the 2018-based CPI market basket are grouped/classified according to the 2020 Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP) which is based on the United Nations COICOP. Meanwhile, the commodities in the 2012-based CPI market basket used the 2009 PCOICOP version of classification of commodities. 

• 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 a chosen reference period. It is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100