WHILE the overall inflation had slowed down in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority said that the faster rate of increase in the prices of rice had persisted during the said period.

This was explained by PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa, adding that the rice inflation had already accelerated to 22.6% last month from 19.6% in December 2023.

It marked a new 14-year high for the food staple’s inflation rate, or the highest since March 2009, when rice inflation was recorded at 22.9%.

Maps said that the price of rice are significantly high in the world market.

He attributed the faster rice inflation to the low base effect seen in January to July 2023, when rice inflation was “relatively low.”

“May mababang base na pinanggalian ang presyo ng bigas,” Mapa said.

Mapa underscored that the PSA monitored that the movements in the average prices of three main rice classes —regular milled, well-milled, and special— saw about P10 to P11 per kilogram increase year-on-year.

He said that for the regular milled rice, the average price was at P49.65 per kilogram in January 2024, up 25.4% from P39.60 per kilogram in January 2023.

On the other hand the average price of well-milled rice also saw an about 25% increment to P54.91 per kilogram last month from P43.92 per kilogram year-on-year.

For special rice, the average price stood at P63.90 per kilogram, up by 18.9% from P53.76 per kilogram in the same month last year.

“Sa world market mataas ang presyo ang tinitignan natin. Sa discussion with Department of Agriculture (DA) nakikita nila patuloy ang pagtaas,” Mapa said.