The Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Inc. (Philfoodex) on Wednesday appealed to consumers for understanding after some of its members increased the prices of commodities associated with the Noche Buena.
Philfoodex also confirmed that a few members have indeed adjusted the shelf prices of some products.
“We understand the concerns of consumers. We don’t want to be the reason why people are facing higher food costs, however have no other recourse but to increase the prices of select goods. The cost of production has also increased like power, labor, and raw materials,” said Philfoodex president Ruben See.
“Christmas season is the only time in the year when food processors like us earn decent profit due to huge demand for Noche Buena products,” he added.
See noted that sugar, which is a main ingredient in food processing especially for Christmas consumables like ham and desserts, is still expensive and has never fully recovered to previous levels of P50 to P60 per kilogram (kg).
According to the Sugar Regulatory Agency (SRA), refined sugar retails at P95 to 12.50/kg in September 2023 while raw sugar sells at P90 to P101.75/kg.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said plans to publish the revised its Suggested Retail Price (SRP) Bulletin for Noche Bureau products soon.
Reports said some Noche Buena products like hams, mayonnaise, and cheese showed some spike in pricing.
However, the DTI clarified that there are premium food and food brands that are not included in the seasonal SRP Bulletin. Premium hams and cheeses are exempted from the SRP, it said.
Only local brands are subjected to SRP.
The DTI said there are 219 items in the DTI Noche Buena product price guides.
Monitored in the SRP Bulletin are 40 ham stock-keeping units (SKUs) under four labels; 12 SKUs of fruit cocktail; 12 keso de bola; 17 mayonnaise; 25 sandwich spread; 17 pasta spaghetti; 21 elbow macaroni; 12 salad macaroni; 24 spaghetti sauces; 13 tomato sauces; 2 SKUs of all-purpose cream.
The DTI said it will ensure that consumers will be accorded the right pricing for consumer staples for the coming Christmas season.
It enjoins the public to report retailers, distributors and manufacturers who are selling beyond the SRP threshold, for products included in the DTI’s monitoring list.