No price hike for basic goods until May 10

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April 18, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no price increases for basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) until May 10, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“We want to assure the Filipino consumers that there will be no price increase for BNPCs until May 10,” Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in a statement yesterday, citing the commitment of manufacturers of BNPCs.

Earlier, manufacturers of these basic goods said they would defer price increases until April 16. This was then extended to April 30.

BNPCs include canned sardines, processed milk, bread, coffee, locally manufactured instant noodles, bottled water, laundry soap, candles, salt, canned meat, condiments and toilet soap with suggested retail prices.

Roque said in a radio interview yesterday that while a manufacturer earlier informed the DTI of its plan to increase its prices, the company decided to withdraw the planned adjustment.

She said the DTI does not expect any shortage of supply in the coming weeks.

As such, she said there is no need for panic buying.

“The DTI is on the ground every day, closely monitoring markets to make sure basic goods are available and prices stay affordable,” she said.

She said the DTI would continue to meet with manufacturers weekly as part of its monitoring.

Sardine supply low

Sardines supply is running out and expected to last until the end of this month in the local market, according to the Industrial Group of Zamboanga Inc.

IGZI vice president Edgar Lim disclosed that the shortage of the canned sardines was an effect of the surging global fuel prices.

“It will last for about 15 days or up to April 30,” Lim told a local station e-Media.

“Our inventory is already very low. As you understand, we just had our three months close fishing from November to February, so the old stock has been released from the warehouse… The factories have very low inventory already,” Lim added.

He said the supplies in the groceries are only the available items which they have to replace.

Julius Daniel, president of Southern Philippines Fishing Association Inc., earlier this week warned they will temporarily stop fishing operations due to high fuel cost.

Daniel said currently, only 50 percent of the fishing fleets are operating as it is no longer economically sustainable.

To cushion the shortage of supply, Lim said the canning industry will stop its sardines exports and concentrate on providing local supply.

“In fact, we export sardines to other countries, (but) because of the situation we prioritize our domestic market,” Lim said. — Roel Pareño