WFP Warns Of Shifting Food Consumption

The World Food Programme (WFP), the food-assistance branch of the United Nations (UN), has just issued its Price Monitoring Bulletin for the Philippines.

Photo Insert: To cope with the spike in prices, nearly two-thirds of the customers have now either started buying fewer goods or buying cheaper or less preferred goods compared to usual.

The UN organization warns that the worrying shift in food consumption, if persisted, may lead to poor nutritional outcomes, especially among children and women.

The report highlights the Headline inflation rate in June 2022 increasing to 6.1% from 5.4% in May and 4.9% in April. (The headline inflation rate is a measure of the total inflation within an economy. It takes into account commodity prices, such as those for food and energy (such as oil and gas), which have a tendency to be significantly more volatile and susceptible to inflationary spikes.)

Citing recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the uptrend is caused by the higher annual growth in the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector. Prices of fuel are also up by 41% for gasoline, 69% for diesel, and 71% for kerosene.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), the average retail prices of rice remained stable; meat and vegetables fluctuated, and cooking oil and brown sugar increased from January to May 2022.

Another highlight for concern is the significantly higher input costs across the agricultural side, which indicates a high possibility that the price of the next harvested rice may go up substantially. In addition, Fertilizer prices have tripled according to the same Government data.

Based on WFP’s market monitoring in Typhoon Odette affected provinces, mixed retail price trends were observed across the four provinces of Bohol, Dinagat Islands, Southern Leyte, and Surigao del Norte. In these provinces, the cost of a typical food basket increased to USD144 (approximately Php8,000) in June 2022, from USD123 (approximately Php6,000) in January 2022 – a 17% increase.

Market sentiment reflects that the majority (71%) of traders interviewed reported that the prices of the key commodities sold in June 2022 increased.

To cope with the spike in prices, nearly two-thirds of the customers have now either started buying fewer goods or buying cheaper or less preferred goods compared to usual. The World Food Programme is concerned that a change in eating habits could have negative effects on children's and women's health if it is not addressed.

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