To control inflation, NEDA exec tells consumers: Don’t buy excessively

As inflation rate is expected to remain elevated throughout the rest of the year, especially during the holiday season, a top official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Saturday advised consumers to control their purchases to arrest further increase in prices.

Inflation in September accelerated to 6.9% from 6.3% in August due to higher food and utilities cost, bringing the year-to-date average at 5.1% —within the Marcos administration’s assumption of 4.5% to 5.5% for the entire 2022.

The Philippine Statistics Authority and the Department of Finance have said that consumer prices are expected to remain high during the last quarter of 2022 due to higher transport and food costs, as well as the pressure brought by a weaker peso and the damage to the crop sector caused by Typhoon Karding. 

In an interview on Dobol B TV, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said that controlling the further acceleration of inflation is also in the hands of consumers.

“Dahil ang inflation ibig sabihin ay mataas ang demand tapos kakaunti 'yung mga produktong nabibili,” Edillon said.

(Inflation means the demand is high and there are fewer products being bought.)

The NEDA official said two ways can be done to address high inflation — lower demand and increase production.

On the demand side, Edillon advised consumers to “bawasan lamang natin ay 'yung sobra na pagbili (let us reduce our excessive purchasing).”

“Pagtaas ng presyo natin ay external ang kadahilanan… outside our control,” she said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the rising interest rates in the US.

(The increase in prices is due to external factors outside our control.)

“‘Yung nasa control natin yung demand. Bawasan natin ‘to,” Edillion said.

(What is under our control is the demand. Let us lessen it.)

The NEDA official also advised consumers to make their Christmas and holiday celebrations simpler.

However, she admitted that her advice is not applicable to all Filipino families.

“Hindi po ‘to sa lahat… Alam naman natin na may mga pamilya na sobra-sobra kung maghanda ng pagkain,” she said.

(This is not for everyone. We know that there some families who go all out in preparing food.)

On the supply side, Edillon said the government has programs to boost production.

The Finance department earlier said that to manage inflation, the continued timely implementation of government measures is crucial in mitigating the impact of persistent supply-side pressures on food and other commodity prices.

The DOF said that the government intensifies its measures to help increase the domestic supply by ramping up local production, ensuring timely importation of goods, fertilizers, and raw materials, and improving distribution efficiency. —KG, GMA News