MANILA, Philippines — Seven manufacturers that are selling various commodities nationwide are set to increase the prices of some of their products starting April 1, due to the continuous oil price hike amid ongoing Middle East tensions, according to a supermarkets group.
In an interview with the INQUIRER on Friday, Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Inc. president Steven Cua said some manufacturers already indicated they would issue price adjustments.
The products include bottled water, home care products, candies, and noodles.
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Cua, meanwhile, clarified that the public does not need to worry about the adjustments in April, especially since not all of those are basic products.
“There are no canned goods, no milk, no coffee, no bread. These basic products are not,” he said in Filipino.
The supermarkets group’s president also said the price increase by April 1 will not be that significant.
“Nobody wants to go one time big time [increase]. Because once you do that and the war [in the Middle East] is gone, you’re dead. You’ll lose out,” he pointed out.
Cua mentioned that the highest price increase for the manufacturer’s bottled water is about P5 for big gallons and only around ¢25 to ¢50 for 500 ml, 350 ml, and 1 liter bottles.
“It’s just a small amount, don’t worry,” he said.
“Those that are widely used by businessmen, cafes, bakeshops, restaurants, fast food, those that use big gallons, those are the only ones whose prices have been slightly increased.”
‘Cost of distribution as a factor’
Cua specifically explained that the manufacturer of the home care products that involve chemicals, such as liniments, needs to increase their prices since all of the items’ ingredients are imported and their factory is in the Visayas-Mindanao area.
“So for them to get to Metro Manila, the cost of distribution, shipping, tracking is already a loss. So they need to raise it,” Cua said in Filipino.
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Continuous fuel price rises are imminent in the Philippines amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which started after the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran last Feb. 28. /jpv