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 decreased to 0.6 percent in January 2025. It was lower by 5.4 percentage points from the same month last year at 6.0 percent and 0.3 percentage point lower from December 2024 at 0.9 percent. South Cotabato’s inflation was lower by 1.8 percentage points compared to the national estimate and 0.2 percentage point lower compared to the regional estimate, respectively. The year-to-date provincial average inflation stood at 0.6 percent (Table 1).
 

The major contributors to the downtrend in the province’s inflation rate for the month of January 2025 is Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels with 1.9 percent inflation; Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance with 2.2 percent inflation; Transport with -0.7 percent inflation; and Restaurant and Accommodation Services with 2.0 percent inflation.

Lower annual increments were noted in the indices of the following commodity groups:

a.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, from 4.5% to 1.9%
b.    Transport, from -0.6% to -0.7%
c.    Restaurant and Accommodation Services, from 2.1% to 2.0%
d.    Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, from 2.3% to 2.2%

Meanwhile, higher inflation rates were noted in the following commodity groups:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, from -0.2% to 0.1%
b.    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, from 0.0% to 0.2%
c.    Clothing and Footwear, from 0.6% to 1.0%
d.    Health, from 1.6% to 3.1%
e.    Recreation, Sport and Culture, from 1.1% to 1.6%
f.    Financial Services, from -0.1% to 0.0%
g.    Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, from 1.3% to 1.4%

The rest of the commodity groups: Information and Communication (0.0%) and Education Services (3.0) maintained their previous month’s inflation rates. (Table 2)

Meanwhile, inflation for food increased to 0.0 percent in January 2025 from -0.3 percent in December 2024. In January 2024, food inflation was higher at 7.2 percent (Table 3).

The top three food groups that contributed to the increased in food inflation were Fish and other seafood, 2.9 percent; Vegetables, Tubers, Plantains, Cooking Bananas and Pulses, 6.4 percent; and Meat and Other Parts of Slaughtered Land Animals (ND), 5.9 percent.