Palace: No price controls

MANILA, Philippines – The government will not impose price controls despite the rise in the prices of basic commodities.

“It is very clear that price control is a last resort,” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the first batch of public-private partnership (PPP) projects yesterday.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that the price of loaf bread went up by P2 yesterday while the price of canned goods rose two percent to three percent.

Domingo said the increase in the prices of basic commodities is caused mostly by the cost of raw materials. This applies especially to bread, canned goods, and milk and dairy products.

The rise in oil prices in the world market affects vegetables because of the additional cost of transporting the produce from the provinces to urban areas.

Trade undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said that the impact of the oil price hikes on goods is still manageable.

During the meeting of the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) last Feb. 11, Domingo ordered sugar producers to submit a report on the supply condition within two weeks but up to now, the Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) has not yet submitted a report.

In a radio interview, SRA Planning Department Manager Rosemary Gomera said the price of sugar is still P62 per kilo.

Domingo wanted sugar prices to stay within the range of P50 per kilo.

Last year, refined sugar retailed at P54 per kilo.

The production gap in sugar is 222,000 metric tons because the production of millers as of Jan. 10 is only 200,000 metric tons.

The expected full-year production of sugar is 1.96 million metric tons.

In the next NPCC meeting, it will be decided if the government will impose price control or will import sugar instead.

During the Senate hearing yesterday on food prices and security, Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chair of the committee on agriculture, urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the

National Food Authority (NFA) to consider the stockpiling of rice.

NFA Administrator Angelito Banayo said there are already indications that rice supply in the world market would be affected.

Vietnam had already given notice that it would export only 5.5 million metric tons of rice this year, 1.3 metric tons less than the 6.8 million metric tons it exported last year. India is also limiting its rice export to high-priced basmati rice. –-Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star) with Marvin Sy