Marcos vows to boost agri, food production amid easing of inflation

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Friday vowed to boost agriculture and food production following the easing of inflation to 3.9% 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.

“Patuloy ang pagsusumikap ng pamahalaan para pagandahin ang kalagayan ng ating ekonomiya. Para sa bagong taon, lalo nating palalakasin ang mga programa para sa agrikultura, at tututukan ang mga hakbang upang mapanatiling abot-kaya ang presyo ng pagkain at iba pang pangunahing bilihin," he said. 

(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.)

National Statistician and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) chief Claire Dennis Mapa said the inflation rate went down to 3.9% in the last month of 2023, slower than the 4.1% rate seen in November last year and much lower than December 2022’s 8.1% rate.

This is the slowest inflation print for 2023 and also the lowest since February 2022 when it clocked in at 3%, Mapa said. 

December's inflation print fell within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) forecast range of 3.6% to 4.4%.

Last month's rate brought the full-year 2023 figure to stand at 6%, still above the government’s ceiling of 2% to 4%. 

The PSA said that contributing largely to the slowdown in the increase of utility prices was electricity, which saw an inflation rate of -7.8% from -3.7% in November 2023. —VAL, GMA Integrated News