Philippine Baking Industry Group (Philbaking), the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) and the Canned Sardines Association of the Philippines are reiterating earlier petitions for price adjustments in the face of rising cost of raw materials and fuel.
Jon Chua, president of Philbaking, said the group will seek a P2-increase on Pinoy Pandesal and Pinoy Tasty, representing the remaining P2 of the P4 the group sought in a petition in 2022.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) granted a P2- increase under a new suggested retail price (SRP) bulletin in February 2023.
Chua said while the price of flour which accounts for more than half of the cost of bread has been stable the past year, other ingredients have seen significant price increases.
These include sugar, shortening and fuel which all add up to the cost of production.
“We are trying to find some ways to hold off (any price increase) by changing the formulation, as simple as it can get,” Chua said.
Chua added Philbaking members continue to produce Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal to serve consumers looking for an affordable option.
SRP on Pinoy Tasty 450-grams is now at P40.50 while a 10-piece pack of Pinoy Pandesal is P25.
Chua said Philbaking is yet to submit the petition to the DTI.
Jerome Ong, vice president of PAMPI, in a television interview, said the weakening of the peso and high interest rates also contribute to surging production cost since most of their products are imported.
“The cost of raw materials across the board from packaging and ingredient has definitely increased. Fuel affects production and distribution while a weak peso affects the cost of imports and tin,” Ong said.
Ong said while some industry players are opting to absorb the increase in cost, others might be forced to cut back production which in the end will lead to shortage of goods.
“We have to look for mitigating actions to ease the impact of cost increases to industries.
Industries don’t want to increase prices because we want to make our products competitive so more consumers will buy,” Ong added.
Noche Buena
Ong said the industry will have minimal – zero to 2.5 percent – increase on Noche Buena products like hams.
“We are making very small adjustments because manufacturers will absorb much of the increased cost,” he said.
Francisco Buencamino, executive director of CSAP, said the DTI should examine the cost of industries not just their prices.
He said the price of tamban has increased by 143 percent since January 2022 before the Russia-Ukraine war to P43 per kilogram from just P30, mostly due to high fuel prices.
This is aggravated by limited fish catch due to the delineation of municipal and commercial waters where fishermen can fish.
According to Buencamino, sardine canners now have to import 100 percent of their tomato paste requirements due to lack of local supply.
Yet, Buencamino said the DTI pegged the SRP at P18.50 to P18.70 per can.
“We don’t want to increase prices because this affects the market. We are increasing prices not for profit but for viability,” Buencamino said.
Appeal
Lucito Chavez, president of the Asosasyon ng Panaderong Pilipino, is appealing to Philbaking to freeze the prices of Pinoy Pandesal and Pinoy Tasty which are used as the benchmark of the prices of similar products of community bakers.
Chavez said the Pinoy Pandesal and Pinoy Tasty, which are part of the corporate social responsibility of Philbaking members, represent a small percentage of the group’s production.
“They can absorb the additional cost of production and make it up on the premium bread products that they sell. We hope we can keep Pinoy Pandesal and Pinoy Tasty affordable especially now with rising prices of rice, to give consumers an option ,” he said. Irma Isip
