Table A: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for All Items in CAR
December 2023, November-December 2024
In Percent (2018=100)
Figure 1: Inflation Rates in Cordillera Administrative Region, All Items:
December 2023 - December 2024
In Percent (2018=100)
1. Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)
The inflation rate for all income households in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) increased to 3.3% in December 2024 from 2.4% in November 2024. In December 2023, the inflation rate of the region was lower with 2.8% (Table A and Figure 1).
1.1 Main Drivers to the Uptrend of Inflation in Cordillera
The contributor to the upward trend of the regional inflation in December 2024 was primarily driven by the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group, with an inflation rate of 5.0% from 2.8% in November 2024, contributing 79.3% to the overall inflation rate. Notable contributors also include Transport that increased from -1.4% to 0.3%, contributing 16.3%, and Restaurants and Accommodation Services from 2.3% 2024 to 2.8%, with 2.0% respectively (Table B and Figure 1).
Table B: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Commodity Group, CAR:
December 2023, November-December 2024
In Percent (2018=100)
Moreover, these commodity groups also recorded faster inflation rates:
a. Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 4.0% from 3.7%;
b. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 3.2% from 2.6%; and
c. Recreation, Sport and Culture, 1.5% from 1.4%.
On the other hand, four (4) commodity groups experienced slower inflation rates:
a. Clothing And Footwear, 1.3% from 1.4%;
b. Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 3.4% from 3.7%;
c. Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 2.4% from 2.6%; and
d. Health, 3.3% from 3.5%.
Three (3) commodity groups maintained their inflation rates:
a. Information and Communication, 0.8%;
b. Education Services, 0.3%; and
c. Financial Services, -1.7%.
1.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Inflation
In December 2024, the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group was the primary contributor to inflation in the region. This commodity group accounted for 53.8% of the overall inflation, contributing 1.8 percentage points to the total inflation rate of 3.3%. This was followed by:
a. Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels, 26.2% share, contributing 0.9 percentage points; and
b. Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 5.1% share, contributing 0.2 percentage points.
2. Food Inflation in CAR
Food inflation in CAR rose sharply to 5.0% in December 2024, up from 2.7% in November 2024. This increase accounted for 50.4% of the total inflation rate of 3.3% for the region. In December 2023, food inflation was also lower at 4.8% (Table C).
2.1 Main Drivers of the Uptrend in Food Inflation
In December 2024, the most significant contributions in the rise of food inflation came from a higher inflation rate in the Vegetables, Tubers, Plantains, Cooking Bananas, and Pulses group that accounted for 81.7%. This commodity group recorded an inflation rate of 10.7% from -6.9%.
In addition, higher inflation rates were observed in the following commodity food groups:
a. Fish and other seafood, 2.1% from 0.6%
b. Fruits and Nuts, 3.0% from 1.2%;
c. Meat and Other Parts of Slaughtered Land Animals, 4.6% from 4.2%;
d. Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts, -1.6% from -2.5%;
e. Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, and Other Cereals, 3.9% from 3.7%; and
f. Oils and Fats, 1.1% from 0.5%.
On the other hand, slower inflation rates were noted in the following food groups during the month:
a. Rice, 6.8% from 9.2%;
b. Corn, 5.2% from 4.0%;
c. Milk, Other Dairy Products and Eggs, 1.4% from 2.0%; and
d. Ready-Made Food and Other Food Products n.e.c., 5.4% from 6.2%.
Table C: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Food Group, CAR:
December 2023, November-December 2024
In Percent (2018=100)
2.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Food Inflation
The top three (3) food groups contributing to the 5.0% food inflation during the month were:
a. Rice, 38.3% share or 1.9 percentage points;
b. Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, 24.1% share or 1.2 percentage points; and
c. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 17.0% share or 0.9 percentage points.
3. Provinces/ Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in CAR
In December 2024, Inflation rates in the region accelerated in most of the provinces and Baguio City, except for Apayao, where inflation slowed down to 1.4% from 1.6%. The provincial inflation rates were as follows:
a. Abra, 5.1% from 4.8%;
b. Apayao, 1.4% from 0.6%;
c. Baguio City, 4.0% from 2.8%;
d. Benguet, 1.8% from 0.8%;
e. Ifugao, 3.1% from 1.4%;
f. Kalinga, 4.0% from 3.0%; and
g. Mountain Province, 5.2% from 3.2%.
Among the provinces, Mountain Province recorded the highest inflation rate in December 2024 with 5.2%. On the other hand, Apayao reported the lowest inflation rate with 0.6%.
When compared to their inflation rates in December 2023, Abra’s inflation rate accelerated from 1.8% to 5.1%, indicating stronger price pressures this year. Meanwhile, Apayao’s inflation slowed down from 6.3% in December 2023 to 0.6%.
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Note:
Detailed CPI and inflation rate data by province and HUCs are available on the PSA website (http://openstat.psa.gov.ph).
(SGD)
VILLAFE P. ALIBUYOG
Regional Director
Designation Initials Date
SOCD, CSS AFRB 09 January 2025
SOCD, SuSS WBM 08 January 2025
SOCD, COSW SCG 08 January 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.