The Department of Trade and Industry said it is helping the Department of Agriculture to ensure that supermarkets comply with the 1-kilogram of refined/washed sugar limit per customer for lower priced sugar.
“I have already instructed our monitoring teams, led by Undersecretary Atty. Ruth Castelo to regularly conduct price monitoring of sugar in selected supermarkets,”said Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who also serves as chairman of the National Price Coordinating Council.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, sugar inflation remains high. In April 2023, the inflation rate for sugar and other confectionary as a group was at 33.7% while the inflation rate for sugar alone was at 62.9%.
According to data from the Department of Agriculture, refined sugar prices ranged from P86 to P110 per kilo on May 5, 2023 while washed sugar prices were at P82 to P90 per kilo.
Refined sugar prices were at P66.85 per kilo in May 2022, up from April 2022s P64.01 while brown sugar prices were at P53.83 per kilo in May 2022, up from the P52.37 per kilo the previous month.
“The DTI heeds the call of the President to take charge of matters concerning agricultural products on the trade side,” Pascual said.
