Figure 1: Inflation Rate for the All Income and Bottom 30% Income Households in CAR, 
All Items: January 2025 - January 2025 
In Percent (2018=100)

1.    Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

In January 2025, the inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households in CAR, accelerated to 3.7%, from 3.3% in December 2024. In contrast from last year average monthly inflation rate, January 2025 inflation rate was observed to be lower for bottom 30% income household than for all income (Table 1 and Figure 1.)

1.1 Main Driver to the Upward Trend of Inflation

The upward trend in inflation was largely brought by Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, that recorded an inflation rate of 1.5% in January 2025, from a deflation of 0.6% in December 2024. This commodity group contributed 72.6% to the inflation of the region’s bottom 30% income households (Table 1, Table 2, and Figure 1).

Table 1: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Bottom 30% Income Households 
by Commodity Group in CAR, All Items: January 2024, December 2024, January 2025
In Percent (2018=100)

Higher inflation rates were also observed in the following commodity groups during the month:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 5.6% from 5.4%
b.    Health, 2.6% from 2.5%; 
c.    Transport, 0.0% from -0.5%;
d.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 3.9% from 3.6%; 
e.    Financial Services, 0.0% from -0.9%; and
f.    Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 3.7% from 3.5%.

On the other hand, slower inflation rates were recorded in the following commodity groups:

a.    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 3.2% from 3.8%;
b.    Clothing and Footwear, 1.2% from 1.4%;
c.    Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 2.7% from 2.9%; and
d.    Recreation, Sport and Culture, Education Services, 3.1% from 3.2%.

The inflation rate for Information and Communication and Education Services remained the same from the previous month, at 1.1% and 0.5% respectively (Table 1).

1.2 Top Three (3) Contributors to Inflation for the Bottom 30% Income Households

The following commodity groups were the top three contributors to the January 2025 overall 3.7% inflation rate for the bottom 30% income households:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, contributing 76.8% of the total inflation, or 2.9 percentage points;
b.    Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, contributing 7.8% of the total inflation, or 0.3 percentage points; and
c.    Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, contributing 5.0% of the total inflation, or 0.2 percentage points.

2.    Food Inflation in CAR

Food inflation for bottom 30% income group rose faster to 5.6% in January 2025, from 5.4% in December 2024. This accounted for 73.2%, or 2.7 percentage points, to the overall inflation rate of 3.7% for January 2025. Compared to January 2024, food inflation was slower at 5.5% (Table 2).

2.1 Main Drivers of the Upward Trend in Food Inflation

The increase in food inflation was primarily driven by the rapid increase in the inflation rate of Vegetables, Tubers, Plantains, Cooking Bananas and Pulses, that recorded 22.7% from 12.2% in December 2024. This group contributed 75.3% to the increase in food inflation for the bottom 30% income households in the region (Table 2).

Moreover, higher inflation growth rates were observed for the following food items in January 2025:
a.    Meat and Other Parts of Slaughtered Land Animals, 5.7% from 4.8%; 
b.    Fish and Other Seafood, 3.3% from 2.9%;
c.    Oils and Fats, 0.9% from 0.8%; 
d.    Fruits and nuts 4.3% from 0.4%;
e.    Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts, -2.2% from -3.1%; and
f.    Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c., 8.2% from 8.0%.

Table 2: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Bottom 30% Income Households 
by Food Group in CAR, All Items: January 2024, December 2024-January 2025
In Percent (2018=100)

On the other hand, the following food groups recorded slower inflation rates during the month:
a.    Rice, 2.6% from 6.6%;
b.    Corn, 7.6% from 7.9%;
c.    Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, and Other Cereals, 3.3% from 3.5%; and
d.    Milk, Other Dairy Products and Eggs, 1.5% from 1.7%.

2.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Food Inflation

The top three food groups contributing to the 5.6% food inflation during the month were:
 
a.    Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, 42.7% share, contributing 2.4 percentage points; 
b.    Rice, 19.5% share, contributing 1.1 percentage points; and
c.    Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 13.4% share, contributing 0.8 percentage points.

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

In December 2024, inflation rates for the bottom 30% income households were observed to be faster in the following provinces in CAR:

a.    Abra, 8.2% from 5.9%;
b.    Benguet, 3.1% from 2.0%;
c.    Kalinga, 4.9% from 3.8%; and
d.    Mountain Province, 5.5% from 5.4%;

In contrast, the provinces in that recorded slower inflation rates for January 2025 for the bottom 30% income households were the following:

a.    Apayao, -2.9% from -0.6%; and
b.    Ifugao, 0.3% from 1.2%;

In January 2025, Baguio City remained the same from December 2024 with 4.6% inflation.
 

Table 3: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Bottom 30% Income Households 
by Province/City in CAR, All Items: January 2024, December 2024, January 2025
In Percent (2018=100)

For the bottom 30% households, Abra recorded the highest inflation rate with 5.9% inflation, and Apayao registered the lowest with -0.6% inflation among the provinces and HUC in CAR.
________________________________________________________________
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    07 February 2025
SOCD, SuSS    WBM    06 February 2025
SOCD, COSW    SCG    05 February 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.