Table 1. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, CAR:
July 2024, June 2025 – July 2025
In Percent (2018=100)
Figure 1. Inflation Rates for All Items, CAR: July 2024 - July 2025
In Percent (2018=100)
1. Cordillera Administrative Region
The overall inflation rate for all income households in the region slowed down to 1.5 percent in July 2025, down from 2.1 percent in June 2025. Compared to July 2024, the region's inflation rate was recorded at 4.8 percent (Table 1 and Figure 1).
1.1 Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of Inflation in Cordillera
The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group was the primary contributor to the downward trend in the region’s overall inflation. This commodity group posted an inflation rate of 0.9 percent in July 2025, down from 1.9 percent in June 2025, accounting for 62.5 percent of the overall deceleration.
Additionally, slower price increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (which posted a 2.6 percent inflation rate, down from 3.3 percent), and in Restaurants and Accommodation Services which declined 3.7 percent from 4.1 percent, further contributed to the slowdown. These groups accounted for 31.4 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, of the overall reduction in the inflation rate.
Table 2. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Commodity Group, CAR:
July 2024, June 2025 – July 2025
In Percent (2018=100)
Among the 13 major commodity groups, six posted slower inflation rates:
a. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages: 0.9 percent from 1.9 percent
b. Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels: 2.6 percent from 3.3 percent
c. Recreation, Sport and Culture: 1.3 percent from 1.5 percent
d. Education Services: 0.3 percent from 0.4 percent
e. Restaurants and Accommodation Services: 3.7 percent from 4.1 percent
f. Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services: 3.0 percent from 3.3 percent
On the other hand, three commodity groups posted faster inflation rates:
a. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco: 3.2 percent from 2.8 percent
b. Clothing and Footwear: 1.1 percent from 0.7 percent
c. Health: 2.7 percent from 2.4 percent
A slower negative inflation rate was recorded for:
a. Transport: -0.3 percent from -0.4 percent
Additionally, three commodity groups sustained constant inflation rates:
a. Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance: 2.3 percent
b. Information and Communication: 0.7 percent
c. Financial Services: 0.0 percent
1.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Inflation
In July 2025, the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels group contributed the most to the region’s overall inflation rate. It accounted for 40.4 percent of the total inflation, contributing 0.6 percentage points to the overall inflation rate of 1.5 percent.
This was followed by:
a. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages: 22.5 percent share or 0.3 percentage points
b. Restaurants and Accommodation Services: 10.4 percent share or 0.2 percentage points
2. Food Inflation in CAR
Food inflation in CAR decreased to 0.8 percent in July 2025, down from 1.8 percent in June 2025. This accounted for 17.2 percent of the region’s total inflation rate of 1.5 percent. In comparison, food inflation was significantly higher in July 2024, recorded at 6.7 percent (Table 3).
2.1 Main Drivers of the Downtrend in Food Inflation
The downtrend in food inflation in July 2025 was primarily driven by the accelerated decline in the prices of rice, which contributed 53.8 percent to the overall decrease in food inflation. This commodity posted a sharper negative inflation rate of -9.9 percent, compared to -7.4 percent in the previous month.
Further deceleration was also attributed to the continued decline in the prices of Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, which contributed 38.9 percent to the overall downtrend. This group posted a higher negative inflation rate of -6.6 percent, from -2.3 percent in June 2025.
Meanwhile, slower inflation rates were observed in the following food groups:
a. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals: 2.1 percent from 2.4 percent
b. Ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified: 2.8 percent from 4.0 percent
Conversely, faster inflation rates were noted in the following food groups:
a. Corn, 0.4 percent from -0.7 percent;
b. Fish and other seafood, 7.8 percent from 6.0 percent;
c. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 2.2 percent from 2.0 percent
d. Oils and fats, 3.2 percent from 2.9 percent; and
e. Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 1.8 percent from 1.7 percent.
Table 3. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Food, CAR: July 2024, June 2025
& July 2025: In Percent (2018=100)
2.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Food Inflation
The top three food groups contributing to the 0.8 percent food inflation were:
a. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals: 228.5 percent share or 1.8 percentage points
b. Fish and other seafood: 130.7 percent share or 1.1 percentage points
c. Fruits and nuts: 105.8 percent share or 0.9 percentage points
3. Provinces/ Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in CAR
In July 2025, slower inflation rates were recorded in four provinces of the region. The reported inflation rates were as follows:
a. Abra: 0.1 percent from 3.4 percent
b. Apayao: -1.3 percent from 0.2 percent
c. Ifugao: 1.2 percent from 3.1 percent
d. Mountain Province: 1.5 percent from 2.3 percent
Meanwhile, the highest inflation rate was posted by the City of Baguio at 3.0 percent, a slight increase from 2.9 percent in June 2025. In contrast, the lowest inflation rate was observed in Apayao at -0.1 percent (Table 1).
4. Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP)
In July 2025, the region’s PPP was recorded at PhP 0.79, indicating that PhP 100.00 in 2018 was equivalent to PhP 79.00 during the reference month.
Higher PPP values than the regional average were observed in the City of Baguio and the provinces of Abra and Apayao, all posting PhP 0.80.
Conversely, lower PPP values were recorded in the provinces of Ifugao (PhP 0.77), Kalinga (PhP 0.78), and Mountain Province (PhP 0.76). Meanwhile, the PPP for the province of Benguet matched the regional average at PhP 0.79.
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Note:
CPI and inflation rates by province and HUCs are available on the PSA website (https://openstat.psa.gov.ph).
VILLAFE P. ALIBUYOG
Regional Director
Designation Initials Date
CSS AFRB 12 Aug 2025
SuSS WBM 11 Aug 2025
AS JPL 08 Aug 2025
TECHNICAL NOTES
Base Period a reference period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by an average Filipino household. It shows how much on average, prices of goods and services have increased or decreased from a particular reference period known as base year.
Inflation Rate refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of the declining purchasing power of money.
Market Basket for CPI purposes, market basket is a term used to refer to a sample of goods and services that are commonly purchased and bought by an average Filipino household.
Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP) A detailed classification of individual consumption expenditures on goods and services incurred by the three (household, general government, non-profit institutions serving households) of the five institutional sectors (non-financial corporations, financial corporations) of the 1993 and 2008 Systems of National Accounts (SNA). The PCOICOP was patterned after the United Nations COICOP.
Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) shows how much the peso in the base period is worth in the current period. It is computed as the reciprocal of the CPI for the period under review multiplied by 100.
Weight is a value attached to a commodity or group of commodities to indicate the relative importance of that commodity or group of commodities in the market basket.
