Prov’l inflation bounces to 1.3%

but food inflation behaves well

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)— The headline inflation in Bohol bounced up a tad, from 1.3 percent in July to 1.5 percent in August this year, but for the Boholanos whose incomes are at the bottom 30% or below, inflation continues to be favourable at -3.0 in August from an already -2.8 in July.

And in case you wonder how come this happened, here’s how.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority which sends out a monitoring team every month to check and keep track of the change in the average retail prices of 13 commodities and services commonly bought by households, for those low-earners, much of their spending is anchored on securing food.

At this, despite an over-all headline provincial inflation of 1.5 percent, or a .2 percent increase from the average year on year change in July 2025, food inflation which was already at the -3.0 in July further favoured the poor with a -3.3 in August, states PSA Chief Supervising Statistician Jessamyne Anne Alcazaren.

Speaking to members of the media attending the monthly inflation rate provincial data dissemination, Alcazaren pointed out the faster negative inflation in rice: from -17.5 percent in July to -19.1 percent in August and for corn: from -20.6 to -22.9 percent in August.

Add to that lower inflation posted by meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, milk and other dairy producst and eggs as well as fish and other seafoods, and everything becomes tolerable.

In August, prices of meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals eased of further to 8.0 percent from 9.9 percent in July, Alcazaren cited.

Milk and other dairy products and eggs also joined in the fray with a good showing: from 14.5 percent in July to 11.2 percent in August and fish and other seafood from 9.3 percent in July to 9.2percent in August.

In fact, life would have been better for low earners, had the prices of vegetables, tubers, bananas and pulses, as well as ready-made food and other food products, behaved providentially.

Both commodities posted higher inflation: Vegetables tubers, bananas and pulses from -10.4 percent to -5.7 percent in August and ready made food from -1.6 percent to -0.8 percent, the PSA official showed.

Moreover, it would have been a much better time for the bottom 30% had the prices in fruits and nuts collaborated: it went haywire from -2.1 percent in July to 6.4 percent in August.

“Food, which has in its group non-alcoholic beverages weighs 92.4 percent in the inflation downtrend,” Alcazaren said.

These factors figured in the -3.0 percent inflation rate for the low income earners, which used to be only 2.8 percent in July. (PIABohol)

ALL RICE. Rice, which earns some 158.5 percent share in a family’s spending, topbills the major contributors to the August 2025 inflation at -20.1, shares PSA Bohol CSS Jessamyne Anne Alcazaren, dragging the other concerns into a favourable food inflation which benefits largely the low income earners. (PIABohol)