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 of South Cotabato increased to -0.9 percent in June 2025. It was lower by 2.3 percentage points from the same month last year at 3.2 percent and 0.5 percentage point higher from May 2025 at -1.4 percent. South Cotabato’s inflation was lower by 0.5 percentage points compared to the national estimate. The year-to-date provincial average inflation rate stood at -0.8 percent (Table 1).

The major contributors to the uptrend in the province’s inflation rate for the month of June 2025 were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and other Fuels at 1.7 percent; Restaurants and Accommodation Services at 4.3 percent; and Transport at -3.2 percent.

Lower annual increments were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups:
a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, (from -3.6 to -4.0);
b.    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, (from 0.8% to 0.2%);
c.    Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance,
(from 1.3 to 1.2);
d.    Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, (from 1.0% to 0.8%);

Higher annual increments were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups:
a.    Clothing and Footwear (from 0.4% to 0.5%);
b.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (from -0.7% to 1.7%);
c.    Transport (from -4.2% to -3.2%);
d.    Recreation, Sport and Culture (from 2.3% to 2.6%);
e.    Education Services (from 3.1% to 6.9%);
f.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services (from 2.1% to 4.3%)

The rest of the commodity groups: Financial Services (0.0%), Information and Communication (0.0%), and Health (3.6%) maintained their previous month’s inflation rates. (Table 2)

Meanwhile, inflation for food decreased to -4.5 percent in January 2025 from -4.0 percent in May 2025. In June 2024, food inflation was higher at 6.0 percent (Table 3).

The top three food groups that contributed to the decreased in food inflation were Rice (from -19.1% to 21.0%), Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses (from -10.0% to 11.4%), and Milk, other dairy products and eggs (from 11.1% to 10.5%).