Manufacturers seek price hike on canned meat, sardines, noodles

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

At least 13 manufacturers are seeking price hikes on basic goods, such as canned sardines, instant noodles, canned meat, among others, amid rise in raw material prices, according to an official of the Department of trade and Industry (Dt I ).

Dt I-Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo revealed that out of the 218 stock-keeping units (SKUs) in the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) Bulletin, manufacturers of 43 SKUs have requested for price adjustments.

t h ese products are canned sardines, condensed milk, evaporated milk, powdered milk, coffee, instant noodles, bottled water, canned meat and toilet soap,” Castelo said in a televised interview on tuesday.

The head of Dt I ’s consumer protection arm said that currently, there are 13 manufacturers who have requested for price increases.

A ccording to Castelo, the proposed price increase ranges from P0.10 to P7.27 or by 1 to 5 percent for food items, while non-food manufacturers are seeking price increase, which ranges from P1.50 to P9.75, or by 6 percent to 10 percent.

The trade official revealed that these manufacturers are asking for price increases on their products because of the rising cost of raw materials such as tamban or the fish that’s being used for canned sardines, the flour in the instant noodles which she said is also imported, the mechanically deboned meat used for canned meat, processed milk which contains ingredients such as skimmed milk, palm oil, buttermilk, and the potassium used in iodized salt.

C astelo noted, however, that the D t I is still verifying the information related to the price increase requests that these manufacturers present to the agency.

“ We have our own mechanism to verify these requests, including the increase in the cost of their packaging materials, transportation costs and their acquisition cost for toll packing,” she said.

It’s worth noting that in May 2023, Castelo said the trade department did not see the need to release an updated SRP bulletin in the near future, as there are only around 20 SKUs that had pending price increase requests that time.

The last time Dt I a llowed incremental increases in the SRP of some SKUs was last February 2023 when the agency approved the price increase requests of manufacturers of bread, sardines, and luncheon meat.

L ast February, Castelo said the Dt I issued an updated SRP bulletin, as the trade department believed some manufacturers were already in a “danger zone” even after the D t I issued an updated SRP bulletin August last year.