CABERTE
As oil prices continue to remain low, consumers can expect prices of basic commodities to go down by the last week of February or early March, an official said.
Regional Director Asteria Caberte of the Department of Trade and Industry gave this price forecast during an interview yesterday.
Caberte said that bread products will be among the commodities to have lower prices.
She said the Philippine Bakers Association committed to lower the prices of their products.
The prices of construction materials like cement, steel bars, G.I. sheets and more are expected to go down soon.
She said construction materials are among those products that involve high fuel components and that is where the clear effect of the low prices of fuel will impact.
Based on the latest price monitoring, there are no significant movements in the prices of commodities in the region yet, she said.
“This is because our retailers usually stock up on products that are good for three months. The oil prices started dropping in January this year, so we could see some real decrease in commodity prices by the last week of February or early March,” she said.
Robert Go, Philippine Retailers Association Cebu Chapter president, agreed.
Go said the lowering of prices of essential commodities is expected.
Prudencio Gesta, past president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a recent interview, said he sees the lowering of fuel prices as a positive effect on the economy.
Lower prices of construction materials will fuel more growth in real estate, said Gesta.
“Real estate is among the growth drivers of Cebu’s economy as it also spurs growth to other industries like outsourcing as more commercial buildings built means more space for the outsourcing companies,” he said.
Go, however, said that for most of the basic commodities, there will likely be flat price movement.
He said he foresees more promotions and freebies in the future which will translate to a cheaper price.
“Only when competition comes to play and glut in commodities will prices be lower. An oil price drop effect is an operation expense drop so these indirect drop will only soften the price or stop any increase for the meantime,” he said.