• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The country’s inflation rate that has further ballooned to eight percent in November this year, was also due to high cost of sugar, disclosed Negros Occidental acting Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer yesterday.
Ferrer however said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is doing his best to address inflation.
The inflation rate was reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to have been higher by 50 percent, compared to the same period last year.
Ferrer said that 30 percent of the eight percent inflation rate was contributed by the high cost of sugar, which prompted the Department of Agriculture to import 64,050 metric tons of sugar to stabilize its selling prices.
He clarified that the proposal to import refined sugar did not come from the Sugar Regulatory Administration.
The PSA reported that services and non-food items such as electricity, food and beverage services, as well as transport services are top sources of inflation in November this year.
Ferrer said the sugar importation intended for the market is reportedly aimed at helping bring down the inflation rate.*
