00:00The sharp plunge in the prices of rice is a no-brainer answer to the slowdown or cooling off in food inflation,
00:07thanks to the insistent efforts of the government to rain down the costs of rice through increased support for farmers,
00:13protecting them from middlemen by buying all their unhust grains or palay,
00:18and the sustained and expanded distribution of much-coveted 20-peso-a-killer rice, as our Denise Soria has more.
00:24Bit by bit, some shoppers are finally able to breathe a little easier, particularly when it comes to the price of rice.
00:33Merji Ampo sticks to a tight budget of 1,000 pesos a week to feed her family of three.
00:38But now that rice has become more affordable, she's managing to stretch the budget a touch further.
00:54Raquel Javier, who used to find budgeting a real squeeze, says the drop in rice prices means she now has a little extra to buy it to add more food for the family.
01:07Oh, naman! Kasi yung bigas, kung sa bigas yung pag-uusapan, medyo bumaba naman.
01:12Kasi dati yung mga bigas, mga commercial, mga 54, di ba?
01:15Pag bumili ka na mga, pang mga NFA, mga nas 35, 30, ganun.
01:19At least ngayon, bumaba-baba naman na.
01:21Kaya nakakabili na din. Pandagdag din yun, syempre.
01:24Mga nasa mga 50, 100, ganun. Depende. Depende sa bibilin mo.
01:28According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, or PSA,
01:31the drop in rice prices is one of the key reasons food inflation has cooled down this June.
01:36Food inflation dipped to 0.1% this month, down from 0.7% in May,
01:42and miles away from the 6.7% recorded in June last year.
01:46One major reason for the slowdown is the sharp plunge in rice prices,
01:50now posting a negative inflation rate of negative 14.3%.
01:55And given how much rice weighs in on food costs,
01:57the effect is by no means small or superficial.
02:00Ang una sa food inflation, kaya in general,
02:04yung presyo ng mga bilihin under the food and non-alcoholic beverages as a basket up,
02:11ay bumabagal dahil doon sa bigas.
02:15Ang weight kasi ng bigas sa ating food basket ay halos mga 30%,
02:26no, one-third of the food ay bigas.
02:28While the price of fish and meat has crept up,
02:31the PSA says the impact of falling rice prices is being felt more widely across the market.
02:36In fact, this is the steepest fall in rice prices ever recorded in inflation data since 1995.
02:43Outside Metro Manila, food inflation has also cooled again,
02:46thanks in large part to more affordable rice.
02:49Yung ating consumption basket kasi ay iba-iba, no?
02:54Dito sa National Capital Region, substantial ang weight niya.
03:00Of course, ang nangunguna pa rin dyan ay yung food natin, ano?
03:04Pero ang next na isa sa malaki na weight ay yung water, electricity, gas, and other fuel wells.
03:12Doon naman sa labas ang National Capital Region pagkain, no?
03:14Kasi malaki yung weight ng pagkain at nakita natin, bumababa yung presyo ng major items,
03:21particularly dito yung bigas.
03:23The PSA adds that even with the rainy season rolling in and the occasional price hikes in other goods,
03:29food spending is now easier to manage for many Filipino households.
03:33Overall headline inflation for June 2025 hit 1.4%,
03:37slightly higher than May's 1.3%, but still far below the 3.7% seen in June last year.
03:44The Banco Central ng Pilipinas assures the public this is still comfortably within 1.1% to 1.9% range,
03:50expecting inflation to stay within the 2% to 4% target threshold right through to 2027,
03:56barring any curveballs from global uncertainties or geopolitical tensions.
04:00Denise Osorio for the National Television Network for a new and better Philippines.