SPECIAL RELEASE

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

Headline Inflation

Oriental Mindoro’s headline inflation or the overall inflation decreased to 3.1 percent in May 2024 from 3.2 percent in April 2024. This brings the provincial average inflation from January to May 2024 at 2.8 percent. In May 2023, inflation rate in the province was higher at 8.8 percent.

Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Headline Inflation

The downtrend in the overall inflation in May 2024 was primarily influenced by the lower year-on-year increase in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 1.7 percent during the month from 3.1 percent in April 2024. Also contributing to the downtrend were furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance and health with slower annual increases of 1.9 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively in May 2024 from their respective previous month’s rates of 4.1 percent and 5.6 percent. 

Lower annual increments were also noted in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month: 

• Clothing, 3.6 percent from 4.0 percent; 

• Information and communication, 0.9 percent from 1.0 percent; 

• Recreation, sports and culture, 2.8 percent from 3.3 percent; and 

• Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent.

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

• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 4.4 percent from 4.0 percent; 

• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels

• Clothing and footwear, 3.5 percent from 2.7 percent;

• Transport, 1.5 percent from -1.0 percent; and 

• Restaurants and accommodation services, 12.4 percent from 10.7 percent.

The indices of education services and financial services retained their respective previous month’s annual rates.

Main Contributors to the Headline Inflation

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

• Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 26.4 percent share or 0.82 percentage point; 

• Restaurants and accommodation services, 24.8 percentage share or 0.77 percentage point; and

• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 22.2 percentage share or 0.69 percentage point.

Food Inflation

Food inflation in Oriental Mindoro slowed down to 1.9 percent in May 2024 from 3.3 percent in April 2024. In May 2023, food inflation rate was higher at 11.2 percent.

Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of Food Inflation

The deceleration of food inflation in May 2024 was mainly brought by the slower year-on-year increase in the index of rice at 6.2 percent from 9.9 percent in the previous month. In addition, the index of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses and flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products and other cereals also contributed to the downtrend as it recorded a slower annual growth of 1.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively during the month from their corresponding rates of 11.9 percent and 2.7 percent in the previous month. 

Moreover, faster annual declines were noted in the indices of the following food groups during the month: 

• Fruits and nuts, -2.6 percent from -0.9 percent; and 

• Milk, and other dairy products and eggs, -4.0 percent from -3.9 percent. 

On the contrary, higher annual growth rates during the month were observed in the indices of the following food groups: 

• Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 4.1 percent from 3.5 percent; 

• Fish and other seafood, -0.9 percent from -1.1 percent; 

• Oils and fats, -11.7 percent from -15.7 percent; 

• Sugar, confectionery and desserts, -5.0 percent from -5.9 percent, and 

• Ready-made food and other food products, 5.8 percent from 5.0 percent. 

The index for corn retained its previous month’s rate of -6.9 percent.

INFLATION RATE BY FOOD GROUP

Purchasing Power of the Peso

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Oriental Mindoro is at Php 0.74 in May 2024. The PPP was registered at Php 0.76 in May 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

Table 2. Consumer Price Index by Subgroup, Month-on-Month and Year-on-Year Percent Changes in Oriental Mindoro (2018=100)

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. 

• 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