Marcos vows to boost agri, food production amid easing inflation
Published on: Saturday, January 06, 2024
By: GMA News
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. at an agricultural programme in Nueva Ecija province.
MANILA: President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday vowed to boost agriculture and food production following the easing of inflation to 3.9pc in December 2023.
Marcos said he is elated over the continued downtrend of the rate of increase in prices for consumer goods and services in the Philippines.
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“The administration continues its effort to improve the country’s economic state. For the new year, we will intensify programs for agriculture, and we will focus on measures that will ensure that the prices of basic goods and commodities would remain affordable,” he said.
National Statistician and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) chief Claire Dennis Mapa said the inflation rate went down to 3.9pc in the last month of 2023, slower than the 4.1pc rate seen in November last year and much lower than December 2022’s 8.1pc rate.
This is the slowest inflation print for 2023 and also the lowest since February 2022 when it clocked in at 3pc, Mapa said.
December’s inflation print fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) forecast range of 3.6pc to 4.4pc.
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Last month’s rate brought the full-year 2023 figure to stand at 6pc, still above the government’s ceiling of 2pc to 4pc.
The PSA said that contributing largely to the slowdown in the increase of utility prices was electricity, which saw an inflation rate of -7.8pc from -3.7pc in November 2023.
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