Guimaras food inflation starts at a low of 4.3 percent in 2025 

The food inflation rate in Guimaras started at 4.3% in 2025, down from 4.8% in the previous month. This also represents a 2.0 percentage point decrease from the 6.3% recorded in the same period last year. (Table 1 and Figure 1)

Primary Factors Driving the Increase in Food Inflation

The deceleration of food inflation in January 2025 was primarily influenced by the monthly price change on Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses with 8.1 percent inflation from 14.2 percent in the previous month, accounting for 38.5 percent share to the downtrend of the January 2025 food inflation in the province.

Also contributing to the downtrend in food inflation were the slower price movements in cereals and cereal products, which recorded a 12.7 percent inflation rate in January 2025, down from 13.6 percent in December 2024 and 15.1 percent in January 2024. This decline was driven by the lower inflation rate of rice, which dropped to 16.0 percent in January 2025, compared to 17.3 percent in December 2024 and 18.4 percent in January 2024.

Likewise, fish and other seafood recorded an inflation rate of -8.6%, indicating a sharper decline compared to the -7.1% inflation rate in the previous month.

Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c. experienced a decrease in food inflation in January 2025 compared to the previous month. The inflation rate stood at 3.8%, up from 4.4% in December 2024.

In contrast, the following food items recorded faster inflation rates in January 2025 compared to December 2024:

a) Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 10.5 percent from 5.3 percent; 

b) Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 4.2 percent from 3.8 percent; 

c) Fruits and nuts, with -0.2 percent from -3.1 percent; and 

d) Sugar, confectionery and desserts, with -4.6 percent inflation from -5.8 percent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, oils and fats maintained a rate of -1.1 percent, unchanged from the previous month’s level.

Main Contributors to Food Inflation in January 2025

The three commodity groups with the highest contribution to the January 2025 overall food inflation were the following:

a) Cereals and cereal products, with a 93.2 percent contribution or 4.0 percentage points; 

b) Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals with 26.4 percent contribution or 1.1 percentage point; and 

c) Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses with 11.2 percent contribution or 0.5 percentage point.

Iloilo records the highest food inflation in Western Visayas in January 2025

Iloilo recorded the highest food inflation rate in Western Visayas in January 2025, reaching 5.8 percent. This was followed by Capiz at 5.0 percent and Guimaras at 4.3 percent. Meanwhile, both Aklan and Antique registered a food inflation rate of 2.9 percent each. The lowest food inflation in the region was observed in Negros Occidental, at 1.2 percent. (Fig. 2)