Prices of most school supplies same as last year’s, says DTI

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual —Official website of the Presidential Communications Office

MANILA, Philippines — Less than a month to go before the opening of the new school year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported on Wednesday that the prices of most school supplies have not gone up since last year.

In its latest “Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies (Guide to Buying School Supplies),” the DTI said that it recorded no price movements in 68 percent of stock-keeping units or SKUs—the technical term used by stores to identify and categorize specific inventories by brand, product type and weight.

On the other hand, there was a price decrease in eight percent of SKUs, while 24 percent showed varied increases in prices.

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A total of 173 SKUs were included in the DTI price guide, up by 56 SKUs compared to last year.

“I urge consumers to buy school supplies from companies that comply with labeling requirements and use the Gabay in shopping. The Gabay indicates which SKUs have not increased or have retained their prices,” Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said in a statement.

New and old prices

According to the guide, the prices of notebooks range from P11.80 to P52, while for Grades 1 to 4, pad paper varies from P9.50 to P61, compared to between P13.80 and P48.75 for intermediate pad paper.

Based on the DTI guide in July 2023, the prices of notebooks back then ranged from P23 to P52, Grades 1 to 4 pad paper from P21 to P28, and intermediate pad paper from P31 to P48.75.

For this year, crayons are priced from as low as P12 to as high as P65, with the maximum price seeing a major change from last year’s P34.

Additionally, sharpeners and rulers are currently priced at P15 to P69 and from P16 to P29, respectively, compared to last year’s P18 to P69 and P22 to P27.75, respectively.