Bakers are seeking a P2 increase in the price of a loaf of Pinoy Tasty Bread and a P0.20 hike in the price of Pinoy Pandesal amid rising production costs.
Samahang Panadero ng Pilipinas president Chito Chavez said flour prices have risen to P950 per bag from only P700 during the last approved price increase for Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal, which are priced cheaper as part of the corporate social responsibility of big bakeries.
He said of the P4 price hike in the price of Pinoy Tasty previously proposed by manufacturers, the Department of Trade and Industry approved only a P2 increase.
“We asked for an increase during the pandemic but it was not granted. We were only allowed to increase after the pandemic,” Chavez said in a radio interview.
“So we resorted to reducing the size of our bread instead of increasing prices,” he said.
As this developed, the majority of Filipinos want the government to prioritize controlling the increase in prices of basic goods and services, results of the latest OCTA Research survey showed.
At least 73 percent of adult Filipinos said controlling inflation is an urgent priority, saying access to affordable food and increasing workers’ wages remain the most urgent national concern, the Tugon Ng Masa (TNM) survey revealed.
The latest survey result indicated a 21 percentage point increase from the 52 percent in July 2023, when inflation was recorded at 4.7 percent.
The concern was seen as the most in Mindanao, where 82 percent of adult Filipinos said it was the most pressing, surpassing other major regions.
Food inflation slowed down to 5.5 percent in December from 5.8 percent in the previous month and 10.6 percent in 2022.
However, it continued to have the biggest inflation contribution for the month at 1.9 percentage points or 48.5 percent of the overall inflation rate.
The DTI earlier allowed some manufacturers to reduce the weight or content per pack of their products while keeping prices steady.
The practice, also known as “shrinkflation,” is considered as a form of price increase, especially as the customer is usually unaware that the size or quantity has been reduced.
Shrinkflation has become rampant in other countries as well as – with experts saying it is not just a trend but a permanent hit on everyone’s pockets.
The OCTA survey also showed that controlling inflation was followed by access to affordable food like rice, vegetables, and meat as the second most urgent concern with 45 percent.
The third most pressing concern was creating more jobs, with 36 percent of respondents citing it as their top issue, while improving or increasing wages or salaries of workers came in fourth with 34 percent.
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 male and female adult respondents from Dec. 10 to 14, 2023. It had a ±3% margin of error at the national level, and ±6% for Metro Manila, balanced Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao with a 95 percent confidence level.