Feb rate lowest in 5 months
Inflation hit its slowest rate in five months at 2.1 percent in February from 2.9 percent in January, mainly due to milder increases in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The comparative February year-earlier inflation rate stood higher at 3.4 percent.
The movement in consumer price index (CPI) in February was also the slowest since September 2024, when inflation stood at 1.9 percent, PSA data released to news organizations on Wednesday showed.
Slower price increments in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, as well as transport, also contributed to the overall price slowdown, PSA Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia del Prado told reporters in a news briefing when the report was released.
The top three commodity groups that contributed the most to the February overall inflation, although at a slower pace, were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which contributed 1 percentage point to February’s headline 2.1 percent rate; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which contributed 0.3 percentage point; and restaurants and accommodation services, accounting for 0.3 percentage point. The three groups also comprise the bulk of the CPI basket of commodities, with food and non-alcoholic beverages accounting for 47 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels accounting for 16.4 percent; and restaurants and accommodation services accounting for 12.9 percent.
Core inflation, which excludes select food and energy items, slowed to 2.4 percent in February from 2.6 percent in January. In February 2024, the core inflation rate was faster at 3.6 percent.
The actual reading for February this year was lower than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) forecast range of between 2.2 and 3 percent.
Food price decline
Food inflation at the national level eased to 2.6 percent in February from 4.0 percent in the preceding month, Del Prado said.
Food inflation shared 43.4 percent, or 0.9 percentage point, to the overall inflation in February 2025, she said.
The deceleration in food inflation was primarily brought about by the slower inflation rate of vegetables, particularly tomatoes, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 7.1 percent, from 21.1 percent in January 2025.
This was followed by a faster year-on-year decline in rice prices at 4.9 percent in February from the 2.3 percent annual decrease in January, and a sharp reversal from the 23.7 percent surge recorded in February 2024.
Del Prado said the last time rice prices dropped was in April 2020, with the rate registering 5.7 percent.
Lower inflation rates in February were noted in the indices for corn; flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals; fish and other seafood; and ready-made food and other food products.
The PSA noted, however, higher annual growth rates in the indices for meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals; milk, other dairy products and eggs; oils and fats; and fruits and nuts.
A slower annual decrease was seen in the sugar, confectionery and desserts index, Del Prado added.
Proactive efforts
Given the continued deceleration in the country’s inflation rate in February, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) yesterday said the government will carry on its proactive efforts to ensure adequate food supplies in the short term while steadily raising agricultural productivity.
“The government will sustain its efforts to keep inflation low and manageable to protect the purchasing power of Filipinos. As we expect six to 13 typhoons to develop from March to August 2025, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will implement the La Niña action plan to restore agricultural productive capacity in areas likely to be affected by continuous rainfall, flooding, and landslides,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
“The action plan includes water management, financial assistance and credit support, and a massive information campaign on La Niña,” he said.
Balisacan explained that the downward trend in headline inflation indicates that the government’s efforts to combat inflationary pressures are working.
“However, we will not be complacent in addressing causes of commodity price increases, particularly for food, to help uplift the lives of poor and vulnerable Filipino families, especially,” Balisacan said.
Major win
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the decline “is a major win for lower-income households as it provides much-needed relief, especially on food items.”
“This sustained downward trend confirms that our proactive measures to curb inflation are delivering results, especially on helping alleviate the burden on vulnerable sectors. This will provide greater purchasing power for our people and stronger momentum for investments and growth,” Recto said, adding the government will not relax its vigilance in monitoring factors that could cause a spike in prices again, especially of food.
He said the government’s proactive interventions—including reducing the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice to P49/kilogram starting March 2025 and the enactment of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act—have effectively supported this objective.
Recto mentioned other key measures being implemented, including amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law to stabilize rice supply and prices, the importation of fish and pork to augment local supply, and the continued roll-out of the African swine flu vaccine.
Weighing in on the latest inflation report, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will continue to engage with various stakeholders in the agriculture sector to further refine its approach in ensuring food security and food prices in the country.
“The slower inflation in February is an affirmation of the DA’s strategy to systematically stabilize the supply and prices of agricultural food products—one that minimizes industry disruptions by consulting with stakeholders as we guide food prices to more reasonable levels,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday.
Tiu Laurel said he will discuss with pork industry players, including traders and retailers this week how they could align their prices with the government’s maximum suggested retail price for pork to temper market prices.
Based on DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region on Tuesday, the prevailing price of pork ham ranged from P350 to P420 per kg; pork belly from P375 to P480 per kg; frozen kasim from P230 to P290 per kg; and frozen liempo from P290 to P350. —With additional reporting from the Malaya business team
