The Department of Trade and Industry has started monitoring the prices of Noche Buena products sold in supermarkets and other business establishments in Cebu.| CDN Digital File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry in Central Visayas (DTI-7) has offered some tips for consumers who will soon be shopping for their Noche Buena goods, a month before Christmas day.
Dinah Gladys Oro, DTI-7 Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist, advised consumers to always be wary of the product’s expiry date.
” When they buy Noche Buena products, palihug check sa expiry date in all food items. Tan-awa sad ninyo because there might be some stores that will be placing their price tags nga matabunan ang expiry date,” she said.
Oro also reminded consumers that the lowest price prevails should there be inconsistencies in the shelf price and the price at the cashier.
Additionally, she urged customers to exercise caution while purchasing food items, particularly if they are unable to read the ingredients.
“Ang atong consumers sad, bag-o ta mamalit, basa ta og labels. We discourage our consuming public to buy food items that dili mo kabasa sa ingredients or composition sa ingredients sa products,” she said.
“Naa sa balaod nga there has to be English translation for all these imported products,” she added.
At least 12 frequently consumed food items have seen price increases throughout the holiday season, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The DTI released on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, a list of 195 stock-keeping units or categories of those products whose price increases ranged from P0.50 and P56.
These items include hams, fruit cocktails, cheeses (including queso de bola), mayonnaise, sandwich spread, pasta (including macaroni), spaghetti sauce, and tomato sauce.
Oro said among the products with price movements are ham (some ham brands have decreased price by P30, while some have increased by P42). The ham prices range from P168-P892.50.
The increase in the price of fruit cocktails ranges from P0.50-p33.05 compared to last year’s price, while the increase in the price of cheese ranges from P3 to P21.
Spaghetti and macaroni also registered price increases ranging from P4 to P27.
“Aware ta nga there is soaring prices of global oil price. (This) could be one contributory factor, unya mao na siya mo-increase pod ang raw materials kay kasagaran man gud ang atong produkto diri is imported ang raw materials, and naa po’y increase sa ilang packaging materials. So, these will also add up to the increase sa ilang overhead nga mga expenses sa production,” she said.
Meanwhile, Oro explained that unlike the prices of basic necessities and prime goods, DTI could not directly regulate the price movement of Noche Buena products.
However, the DTI could still intensively monitor the price movement or increase to ensure that these do not become unreasonable.
“Dili man pod pwede g’yod nga magpataas ni sila pag-ayo gyod. DTI will intervene pod siya. DTI head office nato karon is working hard negotiating with manufacturers to at least ensure lang pod nga at least kung mo-increase, dili pod pinalabi nalang pod kaayo,” she said.
She also added that customers could lodge their concerns or complaints through the DTI customer care hotline, which is available on their official website and social media accounts.
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