Release Date :
Reference Number :
2018-CPI-06
Consumer Price Index
- Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the general measure of the change in the average retail prices of a market basket or collection of goods and services commonly purchased by the average Filipino household.
- The CPI of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) in March 2018 was 114.5. This was higher by 3.2 index points from the 111.3 CPI of March 2017 using 2012 as the new base year.
- Rebasing CPI is necessary to ensure that this barometer of economic phenomena is truly reflective of current situation. Consumer taste, fashion and technology change over time causing the fixed market basket of goods and services to become outmoded. To capture such changes for a more meaningful price comparison, revision or updating of the fixed market basket, the sample outlets, the weights and the base year had to be done periodically. The CPI is an indicator that derives its usefulness in its representation of how much a typical market basket behaves over a specific period.
Table 1. Consumer Price Index by Province, CAR:
March 2017 and 2018
(2012=100)
| Province | March | Index Point Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | ||
| CAR | 111.3 | 114.5 | 3.2 |
| Abra | 108.5 | 110.8 | 2.3 |
| Apayao | 112.8 | 114.4 | 2.3 |
| Benguet | 112.8 | 116.7 | 3.9 |
| Ifugao | 107.8 | 110.8 | 3.0 |
| Kalinga | 112.3 | 116.0 | 3.7 |
| Mt. Province | 108.7 | 110.5 | 1.8 |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority
- Among the CAR provinces, Benguet posted the highest CPI for March 2018 at 116.7, followed by Kalinga at 116.0, and Apayao at 114.4. Mt Province posted the lowest CPI at 110.5.
-
In terms of index point change, Benguet incurred the highest increase at 3.9 index points, followed by Kalinga and Ifugao with 3.7 and 3.0 points increase, respectively.
CPI by Commodity Groups
- Among the commodity groups, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco had the highest CPI in the region at 184.5. The province of Apayao incurred the highest CPI on this commodity at 284.2, followed by Abra, and Kalinga at 221.9, and 204.3, respectively.
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Education registered the second highest CPI among the commodity groups in the region for March 2018 at 123.4 index points. Among the provinces, Kalinga had the highest index on education at 178.6, while Abra and Apayao had the lowest both at 115.5.
-
Clothing and Footwear ranked third at 117.4 index points. Mountain Province recorded the highest index on clothing and footwear at 121.3, followed by Ifugao, and Benguet at 118.6, and 118.0 index points, respectively.
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Communication continued to have the lowest CPI among the commodity groups in the region with 101.3 index. The province of Abra incurred the highest index on communication with 103.6 index points, while Mountain Province had the lowest at 100.0 index points.
-
Among the CAR provinces, Benguet incurred the highest CPI for all items with 116.7, while Mt Province have the lowest index at 110.5.
Table 2. Consumer Price Index by Commodity Group and by Province, CAR:
March 2018 (2012=100)
| Commodity Group | Region/Province | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR | Abra | Apayao | Benguet | Ifugao | Kalinga | Mt. Province | |
| All Items | 114.5 | 110.8 | 114.4 | 116.7 | 110.8 | 116.0 | 110.5 |
|
Food and Non - Alcoholic |
115.7 | 112.5 | 111.6 | 117.9 | 109.8 | 117.3 | 113.0 |
|
Alcoholic Beverages and |
184.5 | 221.9 | 284.2 | 169.2 | 171.0 | 204.3 | 162.2 |
| Clothing and Footwear | 117.4 | 114.4 | 110.5 | 118.0 | 118.6 | 118.0 |
121.3 |
|
Housing, Water, Electricity, |
113.3 | 101.9 | 114.0 | 118.1 | 118.3 | 104.6 | 109.6 |
| Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintainance of the House |
111.2 | 110.4 | 112.8 | 110.8 | 111.4 | 118.3 | 108.2 |
| Health | 110.8 | 104.9 | 106.9 | 115.2 | 105.8 | 109.9 | 103.9 |
| Transport | 103.5 | 101.5 | 101.0 | 105.3 | 96.5 | 103.3 | 106.0 |
| Communication | 101.3 | 103.6 | 103.2 | 100.4 | 101.4 | 103.5 | 100.0 |
| Recreation and Culture | 103.3 | 107.0 | 110.5 | 100.8 | 106.1 | 109.4 | 102.8 |
| Education | 123.4 | 115.5 | 115.5 |
122.4 |
122.1 | 178.6 | 153.1 |
| Restaurants and Miscellaneous Goods and Services |
112.6 | 109.8 | 115.5 | 112.9 | 109.2 | 118.7 | 110.0 |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority
- By index point change, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco recorded the highest which increased by 18.9 points. Increases were also incurred in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (4.7 points), Transport (3.6 points), and Education (3.4 points). The rest of the commodity groups reported minimal annual increases.
Figure 1. Year-on-Year Consumer Price Index by Commodity Group,
CAR: March 2017 and 2018 (2012=100)
Inflation Rate
- Average increase in prices of goods and services in the region accelerated to 2.9 percent in March 2018.
- Benguet posted the highest inflation rate at 3.5 percent, followed by Kalinga at 3.3 percent.
- Inflation surpassed the March 2017 rates for the provinces of Abra, Benguet, and Ifugao while other provinces had lower inflation rates in March 2018 relative to the same month last year.
Figure 2. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Province, CAR:
March 2017 and 2018 (2012=100)
By Commodity Group, Year- on-Year
- Year-on-year inflation rate of the heavily-weighted Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index in the region accelerated to 4.2 percent from 3.1 percent in the previous month.
- Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco had the highest inflation among other commodities in the region with 11.4 percent, followed by Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with 4.2 percent.
- Meanwhile, inflation rates for Furnishing, Household Equipment & Routine Maintenance of the House, Communication, Recreation and Culture, Education, and Restaurants and Miscellaneous Goods and Services were the same last month.
Table 3. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Commodity Groups,
CAR: February and March 2018 (2012=100)
| Commodity Group | Inflation Rates | |
|---|---|---|
| February 2018 | March 2018 | |
| All Items | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages | 3.1 | 4.2 |
| Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco | 11.3 | 11.4 |
| Clothing and Footwear | 2.4 | 2.7 |
| Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| Furnishing, Household Equipment & Routine Maintenance of the House | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Health | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Transport | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| Communication | -0.2 | -0.2 |
| Recreation and Culture | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Education | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Restaurants and Miscellaneous Goods and Services | 2.5 | 2.6 |
By Food Items, Year-on-Year
- Corn (13.0), Vegetables (7.9), and Meat (6.0) persisted to be the top three highest price increases in March 2018.
-
Meanwhile, Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate and Confectionery incurred a negative inflation rate of 1.1 percent.
Table 4. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates of Selected Food Items, CAR:
February and March 2017 and 2018 (2012=100)
| Food Items | 2018 | 2017 | Inflation Rates | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | March | February | March | Previous | Current | |
| Bread and Cereals | 115.4 | 116.2 | 111.7 | 111.6 | 3.3 | 4.1 |
| Rice | 115.7 | 116.7 | 118.8 | 111.6 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Corn | 137.9 | 142.2 | 128.1 | 125.8 | 7.7 | 13.0 |
| Other Cereals* | 112.9 | 113.0 | 110.6 | 110.6 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Meat | 114.8 | 114.6 | 108.2 | 108.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 |
| Fish | 114.8 | 115.3 | 111.4 | 111.7 | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| Milk, Cheese and Eggs | 112.9 | 113.1 | 109.2 | 109.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
| Oils and Fats | 111.9 | 111.6 | 108.8 | 109.1 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
| Fruits | 132.9 | 134.0 | 129.2 | 128.9 | 2.9 | 4.0 |
| Vegetables | 117.9 | 116.7 | 118.1 | 108.2 | -0.2 | 7.9 |
| Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate & Confectionery | 107.6 | 107.4 | 108.7 | 108.6 | -1.0 | -1.1 |
| Food Products, N. E. C. | 107.6 | 108.6 | 107.9 | 106.7 | -0.3 | 1.8 |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority
Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP)
- The value of the peso in the region was 87 centavos in March 2018. This dropped by three centavos from 90 centavos in March 2017. This means that one peso in 2012 is worth 87 centavos in 2018.
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In other words, a basket of goods that can be bought 100 pesos in 2012 is worth 115 pesos in March 2018.
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The PPP in all the provinces generally weakened in March 2018 as compared to March 2017.
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Abra, Ifugao, and Mt Province had the highest peso value at 90 centavos. Meanwhile, Benguet and Kalinga had the lowest peso value both at 86 centavos.
Figure 3. Purchasing Power of the Peso by Province, CAR:
March 2017 and 2018
(2012=100)
Technical Notes
Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a general measure of the change in the average retail prices of a market basket or collection of goods and services commonly purchased by the average Filipino household.
Inflation Rate (IR) is the rate of change in the average price level between two periods (year-on year/month-on-month as measured by the CPI)
Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) measures how much the peso in the reference year is worth in another year
Base Year (BY) is the reference point of the index number series, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series.
The CPI is now rebased to 2012 base year from the current 2006 base year. The year 2012 was chosen as the next base year because it was the latest year when the Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) results were made available. It is also the synchronized rebasing of the price indices to base year 2006 and every six years thereafter.
Market Basket (MB) is a sample of goods and services used to represent all goods and services produced or bought.
| Attachment | Size |
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 CAR-SR-CPI-2018-03-Feb2018CPI%282012%3D100%29_0.pdf |
689.59 KB |