DTI: Prices of 9 in 10 basic goods won't increase

MANILA, Philippines, January 22 ------ Most basic goods in the Philippines are expected to remain at current prices, with only a handful of manufacturers requesting increases, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Among the 205 items listed under basic goods and prime commodities, the prices of 91% will remain unchanged. These include canned sardines in tomato sauce, instant mami noodles, laundry soap, candles, bread, toilet soap and batteries. Despite higher costs for raw materials, packaging, logistics and toll-packing, most manufacturers are maintaining current prices, the DTI said, after the agency appealed for their cooperation last year. A total of 37 manufacturers committed to maintaining their products' prices. These include:

• Universal Canning Inc.

• Maunlad Canning Inc.

• Uptrade Resource Corp.

• Chattra Enterprise

• Permex Producer & Exporter Corp.

• Aquatic Food and Manufacturing

• Slord Development Corp.

• Tosen Foods Inc.

• Zest-O Corp.

• Uni-President Corp.

• Monde Nissin Corp.

• Philbaking

• Wellmade Manufacturing Corp.

• Unilever Philippines Inc.

• Peerless Product Manufacturing Co.

• P&G Philippines Inc. (also listed as Procter and Gamble Philippines Inc.)

• Vayao Wax Manufacturing

• Manila Wax

• Singkee Enterprises

• Sevilla Candles

• Green Cross Inc.

• Colgate Palmolive Philippines Inc.

• Energizer

• LTH Food Industries Inc.

• Snow Mountain Dairy Corp.

• Commonwealth Foods

• Eccossential Foods Corp.

• Billie’s Marketing

• Asia Brewery, Inc.

• JG Summit Holdings, Inc.

• Philippine Spring Water Resources, Inc.

• Robinsons

• CDO Foodsphere, Inc.

• Virginia Foods, Inc.

• Nutri Asia

• First PGMC

DTI Secretary Cristina Roque assured the public that the agency will strictly monitor the prices of basic goods in the country to ensure any changes are fair to both consumers and businesses. "The DTI stays committed to protecting consumers while recognizing the economic realities faced by manufacturers. Through regular price monitoring and open dialogue with manufacturers, the agency helps ensure that any price adjustments are fair and properly justified," she said. Roque added that its regular reports of price hikes or rollbacks in basic commodities serve as a "timely guide" for consumers and businesses to make informed choices and sustain competitive pricing practices in the private sector.

In October 2025, the DTI acted on President Bongbong Marcos' order to keep prices of basic necessities and prime commodities steady through year-end, intensifying monitoring especially during the holiday season. By November 2025, the DTI imposed a price freeze after Marcos declared a state of national calamity due to Typhoon Tino and other storms that devastated the country. After the holidays and the price freeze, however, the inflation rate edged up slightly to 1.8% compared to the 1.5% posted in November 2025. This may have influenced the 8% of basic goods that are expected to experience price increases in the coming weeks.

Source: philstar.com