Table A: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for All Items in CAR
In Percent
(2018=100)

Figure 1: Inflation Rates in Cordillera Administrative Region, All Items: 
April 2023 - April 2024 (2018=100)

1.  Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

In April 2024, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) registered an acceleration for the third consecutive month, rising to 4.6% in April 2024 from 4.0% in March 2024. This brings the regional average inflation from January to April 2024 to 3.4%. In April 2023, the inflation rate in the region was slower with 4.3% (Table A and Figure 1).

1.1 Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of Inflation in Cordillera

The upward trend in inflation in April 2024 was primarily influenced by the higher year-on-year increase in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, with an inflation rate of 1.8%, from 0.5% in March 2024. This commodity group accounted for a 55.5% share in the overall inflation uptrend in the region. Another commodity group with a significant contribution is Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, with 29.7% share in the inflation uptrend and an inflation rate of 6.9%, from 6.4% in March 2024 (Table B and Figure 1).

Table B: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Commodity Group in CAR
In Percent (2018=100)

Moreover, higher annual growth rates were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups during the month:

a. Transport, 4.8% from 3.9%; and
b. Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 3.7% from 3.6%.

In contrast, five commodity groups exhibited slower inflation rates:

a. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 4.4% from 4.8%; 
b. Clothing and Footwear, 1.8% from 1.9%; 
c. Health, 5.2% from 5.4%;
d. Recreation, Sport and Culture, 1.6% from 1.9%; and
e. Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 4.6% from 5.6%.

The indices of the rest of the commodity groups retained their respective previous month’s annual rates (Table B).

1.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Inflation

In April 2024, the major contributor to the region's inflation was the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with a 55.1% share or 2.5 percentage points to the 4.6% inflation in CAR. This was followed by:

a. Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels with a 10.3% share or 0.4 percentage points; and
b. Transport with 10.2% share or 0.4 percentage points.
 

2.  Food Inflation in CAR

Food inflation in the region rose to 7.1% in April 2024, from 6.6% in March 2024. In April 2023, food inflation was higher at 7.4%. (Table C).

Table C: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Food in CAR
In Percent (2018=100)

2.1 Main Drivers of the Upward Trend in Food Inflation

The acceleration of food inflation in April 2024 was mainly brought about by the year-on-year increase in the Vegetables, Tubers, Plantains, Cooking Bananas, and Pulses index accounting 88.4% share in the uptrend. This food group registered an inflation rate of 6.6%, from a deflation rate of -1.0% in March 2024.

In addition, higher annual growth rates were noted in the following food groups during the month:
a. Corn, 10.3% from 10.2%; 
b. Meat and Other Parts of Slaughtered Land Animals, 0.8% from 0.6%; and
c. Ready-made Food and Other Food Products n.e.c., 5.1% from 4.7%.

The slower deflation in the Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts at -5.9% from -7.6% in the previous month also contributed to the inflation uptrend.

On the contrary, slower annual growth rates were observed in the indices of the following food items: 
a. Rice, 23.4% from 24.2%; 
b. Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, and Other Cereals, 3.9% from 4.3%;
c. Fish and other seafood, 2.9% from 3.5%;
d. Oils and Fats, -2.4% from -2.3%; and
e. Fruits and Nuts, 1.9% from 6.1%.

2.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Food Inflation

Food inflation contributed 53.8 percent or 2.4 percentage points to the 4.6% overall inflation of the region in April 2024. The top three food groups in terms of contribution to the food inflation during the month were the following:

a. Cereals and Cereal Products, which includes rice, corn, flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, with 82.6% share or 5.8 percentage points; 
b. Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, with 9.0% share or 0.6 percentage points; and 
c. Fish and other seafood with a 4.5% share or 0.3 percentage points.
 

3.  Provinces/ Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in CAR

In April 2024, all provinces and the highly urbanized city of Baguio experienced an uptrend in inflation rates, except for the province of Apayao, which registered a slower rate to 4.7% from 4.9%. Ifugao recorded the highest inflation rate in the region with 7.2%. Conversely, Mountain Province maintained its position with the slowest inflation rate, registering 1.8%.

Provinces/Highly Urbanized City with higher inflation rates:

a.    Abra: 4.7%, from 3.8%;
b.    Baguio City: 4.2%, from 3.6%;
c.    Benguet: 5.0%, from 4.7%;
d.    Kalinga: 3.9%, from 2.7%; and
e.    Mountain Province: 1.8% from 1.4%.
________________________________________________________________
Note:
CPI and inflation rates by province and selected city are posted on the PSA website (http://openstat.psa.gov.ph).

(SGD)
VILLAFE P. ALIBUYOG
Regional Director

AFRB/NLP
 

Technical Notes

Concepts and Definitions of Terms

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.