Vegetable, fish prices push inflation higher in August

Successive storms and heavy rains have disrupted farms and fishing grounds, driving up the prices of vegetables and fish and pushing overall inflation higher in August, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday.

Inflation quickened to 1.5% in August from 0.9% in July, with food inflation recorded at 0.6%, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said floods destroyed vegetable farms while bad weather kept fishermen from going out to sea.

“Dahil iyon sa sunud-sunod na pag-ulan na nakakaapekto talaga sa presyo ng gulay atsaka isda (That’s because of consecutive rains that affected the prices of vegetables and fish),” he explained.

Vegetable inflation jumped to 10% in August, reversing a 4.7% deflation in July, while fish prices rose by 9.5%, up from 6.3% in the previous month.

“Syempre kapag may bagyo, titigil ‘yung pangingisda. Sa gulay naman, mabilis naman bahain (When there’s a storm, fishing stops. Vegetables, meanwhile, are easily flooded),” De Mesa added.

Meat prices dipped slightly but remain elevated, with renewed “price pressures” expected during the holiday season. Eggs may follow the same trend as demand increases.

On a brighter note, rice prices continued to ease, benefiting consumers. Rice inflation dropped further to -17% in August, from -15.9% in July, due to strong local harvests and abundant supply from major producers like India, Vietnam, and other ASEAN neighbors.

The DA expects at least 11 million metric tons of palay from the wet harvest season and remains optimistic of surpassing last year’s record 20.06 million MT, with a target output of 20.4 million MT this year.