Rice retail prices fall in early Jan.; meat up

THE retail price of rice declined year on year in early January, while meat and galunggong (round scad) prices increased, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

During the Jan. 1-5 period, which the PSA calls the first phase of January, the national average retail price of regular milled rice declined 10.54% year on year to P43.39 per kilo. The first-phase price was higher than the P42.10 average during the second phase of December (Dec. 15-17) and the P41.38 average a month earlier.

The highest average retail price of regular milled rice in the first phase of January was recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at P49.12 per kilo, down from the P50.71 reported a year earlier.

The lowest retail price of regular milled rice in early January was reported in the Cagayan Valley at P36.49 per kilo, down from P43.38 a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the retail price of bone-in fresh pork averaged P315.18 per kilo in the first phase of January, up 2.88% from a year earlier. The national average is slightly higher than the P314.72 recorded in the second phase of December and P314.41 a month earlier.

The retail price of dressed chicken averaged P213.88 per kilo in the first phase of January, up 0.79% from a year earlier. The average retail price for the period is also higher than the P212.40 during the second phase of December and P210.67 a month earlier.

Galunggong prices rose 12.7% year on year to P252.15 per kilo in the first phase of January. The average price of the staple fish rose from P249.11 in the second phase of December and P244.90 a month earlier. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel