DTI mulls lifting of purchase limits

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is close to lifting the purchase limits it had set on certain items during the quarantine, as the economy reopens and the supply of goods becomes stable.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the availability of many items had also brought down instances of panic buying, which had marred the first few days of the lockdown.

Lopez said that since many areas had been placed under general community quarantine, many companies were now operating close to 100 percent already.

Thus, supermarket shelves are now filled with goods and many products are available, Lopez said. Rubbing alcohol and face masks are now readily found in stores, he noted.

There is also a two-week inventory for finished goods and one month for raw materials, which means the country would not run out of food soon, Lopez added.

“Because of these, we have assured our consumers that there would be no shortage, which was why there is no more panic buying, which many consumers fear. This is why very soon, we would also remove the limitations on purchases which we instituted at the height of the quarantine,” he said in an interview.

Items with purchase limits were disinfectant alcohol, hand sanitizer, disinfecting liquid, toilet paper, face masks, locally produced canned sardines and instant noodles, bath soap, canned regular milk, powdered milk in sachets, instant coffee in sachets, mineral water and loaf bread.

Manufacturers and retailers earlier called on the DTI to remove the quantity limits on certain items that consumers could buy to boost their sales.