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Cebu City, Philippines - Prices of most noche buena items in Central Visayas are expected to be stable within the year as world oil price per barrel continues to go down.
“After all, consumers will have a happy Christmas,” said Asteria Caberte, regional director of Department of Trade and Industry Central Visayas (DTI 7).
Caberte, however, noted that they are still closely monitoring the prices of these products as the holiday season comes closer noting that store owners may take advantage of high demand of these products.
Prices of these products have the tendency to increase starting November, she said, but as long as the increase is not “abnormal” or does not far exceed the list of suggested retail price (SRP) issued by DTI, the sellers cannot be told to stop selling the items or decrease prices.
As with any price increases in other industries, increase in the prices of noche buena items and basic and prime commodities should not be more than 10 percent.
The weekly price monitoring report from DTI Cebu Provincial Office (DTI-CPO) as of November 10 revealed that prices of most noche buena items have not increased.
Data show that prevailing market price of most items are even lower than the latest SRP.
One-kilogram of a salad macaroni brand for instance costs P93 against the latest SRP of P104, while a 450-kilogram cheese costs P94.85 against the P97 SRP. /Reporter Cris Evert B. Lato
