YEAR-ON-YEAR INFLATION RATES

The headline inflation or the annual rate of change on the prices of goods and services in the market basket in General Santos City increased to 3.1 percent in April 2024 from last month’s inflation at 2.9 percent. This was lower than the regional level at 5.0 percent and national level at 3.8 percent. This was also lower by 2.6 percentage points from a year ago of the same month at 5.7 percent. The average inflation or the year-to-date inflation of the city was recorded at 3.1 percent.

The main contributors to the city’s uptrend inflation for the month of April 2024 are as follows:

a)    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, from 4.4% to 6.0%;
b)    Transport, from 0.6% to 1.7%
c)    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, from -1.3% to -0.8%;
d)    Health, from 1.9% to 2.0%;

Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages contributed 74.6% to this uptrend; while Transport at 13.6%, and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels at 11.4%. On the contrary, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco group decreases its inflation this April 2024, from 6.0% to 4.8%; Recreation, Sport and Culture from 2.5% to 2.3%; Restaurants and Accommodation Services from 9.3% to 2.7% and Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services from 3.0% to 2.8%.

The rest of the commodity groups: Clothing and Footwear; Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance; Information and Communication; Education Services; and Financial Services maintained their previous month’s inflation rates (Table B).
 

Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased from 4.4 percent in March 2024 to 6.0 percent in April 2024. The commodity groups that contributed to the increase in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages were Fish and other seafood at 7.1 percent from 1.0 percent; Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 4.3 percent from -5.5 percent; Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals at -1.0 percent from -1.7 percent; Ready-made food and other food products at 3.6 percent from 2.5 percent; Oils and Fats at -3.4 percent from -5.2 percent and Sugar, confectionery and desserts at -3.8 percent from -4.2 percent.

Please see Table C for the year-on-year inflation on Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group in percent.