PSA uncertain if price cap will prevent future price hikes

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority said on Thursday that imposing a price cap on rice cannot ensure the prevention of future price increases. 

According to the PSA, additional data is required to determine the effectiveness of the price cap in curbing future rice price increases and its potential impact on future inflation.

“Tinitignan namin 'yung data on what happened, if there is no price cap…sabi ko nga kailangan iresearch pa 'yung mga counterfactual para makita natin kung ano ang impact (We are examining the situation here without any price cap. I mentioned that we need to investigate the counterfactual scenario to understand how inflation has affected this),” chief statistician Dennis Mapa said.

Inflation for the month of September soared to 6.1%, higher than the recorded 5.3% in August. 

This is due to the rising prices of oil and food products, including rice, despite the imposed price cap.

The government lifted the imposed price cap for regular and well-milled rice on Wednesday.

This removes the restrictions on regular milled rice at P41 per kilogram and that of the well-milled rice at P45 per kilogram.

Local retailers, meanwhile, anticipate a decline in rice prices following the removal of the price cap.

Currently, local rice at the Martinez Public Market in Mandaluyong is priced between P52 to P56, while imported rice is available at P57 to P58.