09 March 2025– Guimaras. The food inflation rate of Guimaras province went down to 0.6 percent in February 2025 from 4.3 percent in January 2025, bringing the provincial average of food inflation from January 2025 to February 2025 to 2.4 percent. The food inflation rate for February 2024 was at 9.0 percent.

The deceleration of food inflation in February 2025 was primarily influenced by the monthly price change on cereals and cereal products, with 4.2 percent inflation during the month, from 12.7 percent in the previous month, accounting for a 74.6 percent share in the February 2025 food inflation rate of Guimaras.

“The price deceleration of cereals and cereal products was particularly driven by rice, except NFA rice, regular milled with 5.1 inflation in February 2025, lower against 16.8 a month ago”, Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals with 6.4 percent inflation during the month from 10.5 percent in the previous month, and vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking, bananas, and pulses with 1.0 percent in January 2025 with 11.7 percent also showed, and significant share to the downtrend of February 2025 food inflation.

“Those food items were primarily pushed by slow-moving retail prices of meat of pigs, fresh, chilled or frozen with 6.6 inflation from 13. 1% in January 2025 and tomatoes, fresh or chilled with -20.7 inflation in February 2025 from 107.3 a from its previous month”, Losare explained.

Other commodities that showed gradual decrease in food inflation rates in January against February 2025 were Oils and fats, -3.8 percent from -1.1 percent; Milk, other dairy products and eggs, -8.6 percent from -8.3 percent; and Fruits and nuts, -0.5 percent from -0.2 percent.

In contrast, the following were the food items with faster inflation in January than in February 2025:

a) Fish and other seafood, -8.3 percent from -8.6 percent; 

b) Sugar, confectionery, and desserts, -2.4 percent from 4.6 percent; and 

c) Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c., 4.8 percent from 3.8 percent;

Guimaras Core Food Inflation

Core food inflation, which excludes selected food items (rice, corn, meat, fresh, chilled or frozen, fish, fresh, chilled or frozen, and vegetables cultivated for their fruit, vegetables, grown for their roots), decreased to 1.6 percent in February 2025 from 2.5 percent in the previous month. In February 2024, core food inflation was higher at 3.1 percent.

Food inflation in Western Visayas

Guimaras recorded the sharpest decline, dropping from a peak of 11.6% in April and May 2024 to 0.6% in February 2025.

Among the provinces, Aklan (1.3%), Antique (-1.2%), and Negros Occidental (0.1%) also posted significant reductions in food prices. Meanwhile, Capiz (5.2%) and Iloilo (4.8%) maintained moderate rates in the region.

In the highly urbanized cities, Iloilo City (4.3%) maintained a relatively high rate, while Bacolod City (2.6%) experienced a more moderate level of food inflation.