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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 15 March) – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Davao City said on Monday that there has been no increase in the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities despite the steep hike in oil prices as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Rachel Remitio, DTI-Davao City director, told Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) that the prices of basic goods remain stable as the agency sees no direct impact yet on the costs of the basic goods in the local market weeks after the Russia-Ukraine conflict started. She said the agency has not received requests from manufacturers for any price adjustments. Remitio hopes the anticipated price increase could be abated with measures that intend to stabilize the prices of goods amid the crisis, including the commitment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to increase supply of fuel in the hopes of addressing the supply shortage in the world market. She warned establishments to avoid increasing prices of goods above the suggested retail prices (SRPs), adding that personnel of the agency are being deployed weekly to 48 major supermarkets in the city to monitor the movement of prices. “We’re doing the monitoring to see the compliance of the establishments with the SRP. If we see price adjustments during our monitoring, right there and then we remind the retailers that they should follow the SRP,” she said. Remitio said the agency implemented the new SRPs last January 27, allowing less than 10% increase in the prices of basic commodities, particularly canned goods and bread products. An increase of P2 in the SRP for bread has been permitted and P2 to P3 increase for canned goods, she said. Remitio said price adjustments were made due to increases in the cost of raw materials. She said manufactures of canned goods complained that the price of imported tin cans increased by 133% since last year. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)