El Niño Spurs Inflation Surge in Central Visayas

Lifestyle & Entertainment

The El Niño phenomenon has recently impacted the prices of goods in Central Visayas, driving the region's inflation rate to 4.0 percent in May 2024, after two months of stability.

Engr. Felixberto Sato Jr., supervising statistical specialist of the Philippine Statistics Authority Central Visayas (PSA 7), reported on Thursday, June 13, that this figure is 0.8 percentage points higher than the 3.2 percent recorded in April.

The primary driver of the inflation uptrend was the significant rise in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which surged to 6.4 percent in May 2024 from 5.0 percent in April. Additionally, the transport index contributed to the increase, rising by 2.3 percent in May after a 1.4 percent decline in April. Sato noted that the region experienced faster annual increments in the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which increased to 1.6 percent from 1.1 percent.

El Niño Induced

Sato attributed the rising inflation rate partly to the El Niño phenomenon, which he believed contributed to the increased prices of various goods and commodities. He highlighted that the heat brought by El Niño led to higher use of air conditioners and fans as people sought relief from the sweltering weather.

El Niño, a natural climate phenomenon in the tropical Pacific, causes elevated sea-surface temperatures and less rain, significantly impacting global weather patterns.

Food Inflation

Food inflation, which is directly affected by El Niño, also increased, rising to 6.7 percent in May from 5.3 percent in April. The faster increase in the prices of cereals and cereal products, including rice, corn, flour, bread, pasta, and other bakery products, drove food inflation to 12.3 percent in May from 9.5 percent.

Additionally, the rise in prices of vegetables, tubers, plantains, and cooking bananas, with an inflation rate of 11.4 percent from 1.7 percent in the previous month, was the second driver of food inflation. The increase in prices of meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, which went up by 6.8 percent from 6.5 percent in April, also contributed to the overall food inflation.