Inflation rate of Davao del Norte increased by 1.8 percentage points (2018=100) in September 2023

1. Inflation in Davao del Norte 

The headline inflation of Davao del Norte decreased by 4.0 percentage points in September 2023 (3.4%) compared to its inflation rate in the same month last year, which was recorded at 7.4 percent. The current inflation rate (3.4%) of the province is lower compared to the headline inflation of the Philippines and Davao Region, which stood at 6.1 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively (Table A). 

The average inflation of Davao del Norte for the year 2023 stood at 3.9 percent (Table B).

2. Contribution to the Inflation 

Table C showed that the September 2023 inflation of Davao del Norte is mostly contributed by the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (9.0%); transport (2.1%); and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services (4.6%).

3. Share to the Trend of Inflation

The increment in the inflation rate of Davao del Norte can be observed with its upward trend from 1.6 percent in August 2023 to 3.4 percent in September 2023. This increase is mainly contributed by the upward movement of the index for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels from a rate of -13.9 percent in August 2023 to -9.1 percent in September 2023. This is followed by the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (from 7.6% to 9.0%), and transport (from 0.2% to 2.1%). (Table D).

 Despite the increase of inflation rate in the province, a downward trend in September 2023 compared to their corresponding rates in August 2023 were observed in Table D for the following commodities: 

 Health (from 6.6% to 3.2%); and 

 Information and communication (from 1.4% to 0.8%) 

It can also be observed that the commodities for education services; restaurants and accommodation services; financial services; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services has shown no sign of increase nor decrease in inflation rate in comparison to their corresponding rates in the last month. 

The index for food has also shown an upward trend from 7.9 percent in August 2023 to 9.4 percent in September 2023. The uptrend of the food inflation was mostly attributed by the higher annual increase in the price indices of rice; meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals; and fruits and nuts (Table E.)

4. Purchasing Power of Peso 

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) measures the current value of the peso in reference to its value in the base year. It has an inverse relationship with the Cosumer Price Index (CPI) which means that if the CPI increases, the PPP decreases. 

Figure 2 showed that the PPP for the province of Davao del Norte further decreased and was recorded at 0.83 in September 2023. This suggests that PhP100.00 in 2018 is currently valued at PhP83.00.

PEPITO D. AMOYEN
Chief Statistical Specialist