Table A. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Zamboanga Peninsula and Zamboanga City, All Items
In Percent   
(2018=100)

Zamboanga City

Headline inflation in Zamboanga City continued to slow down further with an inflation rate of 3.3 percent this June 2023 from 4.2 percent in the previous month.  This is the fourth consecutive month of deceleration in the headline inflation and the lowest in the past 
14 months. In June 2022, inflation rate was higher at 6.2 percent. The year-to-date average inflation rate for the first semester is recorded at 5.5 percent. (Table A and Figure 1).

The downtrend of the overall inflation in June 2023 was primarily influenced on the annual decline in the commodity group of Food and Non Alcoholic Beverages with lower inflation rate recorded at 5.3 percent from 6.4 percent in May 2023 and considered the top contributor in the downtrend of inflation for this month. The commodity group, Transport with -6.0 percent inflation in June 2023 also contributed in the downtrend of the overall inflation. The commodity group Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels was the third primary driver in the deceleration of inflation for June 2023 with an inflation rate of 
1.7 percent from 1.8 percent in the previous month.

The other commodity group that also contributed to the lower headline inflation in June 2023 in Zamboanga City was Clothing and Footwear, recorded at 2.4 percent from 2.7 percent in May 2023.

Meanwhile, the indices of the rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s inflation rates: 
a.    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 7.2 percent
b.    Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 5.3 percent
c.    Health, 3.5 percent
d.    Information and Communication, 0.4 percent
e.    Recreation, Sport, and Culture, 2.6 percent
f.    Education Services, 6.1 percent
g.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 5.8 percent
h.    Financial Services, 0.0 percent
i.    Personal Care, Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 3.1 percent

Table B. Year-on- Year Inflation Rates in Zamboanga City, All Items
In Percent
January 2019 – June 2023
(2018=100)

Table C. Year-On-Year Inflation Rates by Commodity Groups in 

Zamboanga City for all Income Households, 2018=100

Food inflation in Zamboanga City continued to exhibit a slow down with 5.6 percent reported inflation this month compared from the 6.8 percent in the previous month. In June 2022, food inflation was slightly higher at 6.9 percent.

The primary drivers in the downtrend of food inflation for June 2023 were the lower annual growth in the food indices of Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals recorded at 1.5 percent from 7.5 percent and Milk, other dairy products and eggs recorded at 6.6 percent from 10.6 percent in May 2023. The third primary driver in the slower food inflation was Fruits and Nuts at 1.2 percent from 9.6 percent in the previous month. Another food index that exhibited lower inflation rate this month was Flour, Bread and Other Bakery Products, Pasta Products, and Other Cereals recorded at 5.0 percent from 6.8 percent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the other food items also contributed in the deceleration of food inflation in Zamboanga City. 
a.    Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c., 9.9 percent
b.    Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 23.8 percent
c.    Rice, 6.2 percent 
d.    Oils and Fats, 1.1 percent 
e.    Corn, 1.3 percent 
f.    Cereals, 6.1 percent
g.    Cereals and Cereal Products, 5.8 percent

In contrast, the food items of Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses and Fish and Other Seafood exhibited an increase in their inflation rates at 12.7 percent and 
2.3 percent, respectively.

Note: CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are posted at the PSA website (http://openstat.psa.gov.ph/).

MEWCHUN WS. PAMARAN
Regional Director

RMABG/mgcn