La union: The inflation rate in the province of La Union slowed down to 1.4 percent in June from 1.7 percent in May, due to a decline in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, electricity and liquefied hydrocarbons, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
According to Philippines News Agency, PSA La Union chief statistical specialist Danites Te±ido, in a forum on Wednesday, stated that food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 53.7 percent to the downward trend of the province's inflation. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels contributed 44.1 percent, while information and communication accounted for 2.2 percent.
The inflation rate under fish and other seafood, specifically other pelagic fish, live, fresh, chilled or frozen, decreased from 3.3 percent in May to 1.0 percent in June. Freshwater fish, live, fresh, chilled or frozen, also saw a decrease from 11.7 percent in May to 8.5 percent in June. This contributed to the decline in food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation to 1.0 percent in June from 1.6 percent in May.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Ilocos Region aquaculturist Joanna Tabelon highlighted that there is sufficient fish supply in the province. Fisherfolk employ various methods in catching fish, aside from offshore fishing, which is not reliant on the prices of fuel or feeds. Many use nets set along rivers or near the shore, as well as stationary fish traps like the Lambaklad.
Inflation rates for vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses decreased from 7.3 percent to 4.6 percent. Fruits and nuts also recorded lower inflation, dropping from 11.6 percent to 7.2 percent. Additionally, the inflation for eggs decreased from 6.7 percent to 2.2 percent, and fresh bananas saw a notable decline from 5.6 percent to -4.7 percent, as reported by Te±ido.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels inflation decreased from 6.9 percent to 5.9 percent. Notably, electricity inflation slowed from 29.5 percent in May to 26.3 percent in June, while liquefied hydrocarbons decreased from 2.6 percent to 0.9 percent, contributing to the lower inflation rate in La Union.
Education services experienced a slight increase in inflation from 2.7 percent in May to 2.8 percent in June due to the opening of classes. Transportation inflation also saw an uptick from -4.4 percent to -3.2 percent.
The inflation rates for clothing and footwear, alcoholic beverages, and restaurant and accommodation services in the province remained unchanged between May and June this year, holding steady at 1.2 percent, 1.7 percent, and 0.5 percent, respectively.
