The acceleration in the province’s inflation rate in January 2023 was due to higher annual growth rate in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages at 10.2 percent, from 9.0 percent in December 2022. This was followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels with 11.7 percent annual growth, from 10.3 percent in December 2022.

Also contributing to the uptrend in the overall inflation in January 2023 were the higher annual increases in the indices of the following commodity groups:

a. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 9.2 percent;

b. Health, 4.2 percent;

c. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 12.5 percent;

d. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household

maintenance, 5.5 percent; and

e. Recreation, sport and culture, 8.6 percent.

On the other hand, lower annual increments were observed in the indices of clothing and footwear at 6.9 percent; and transport at 11.0 percent.

The indices of the rest of the commodity groups retained their respective December 2022 rates. (Tables C)

Inflation for food rose to 10.3 percent in January 2023, from 9.1 percent in December 2022. In January 2022, food inflation was observed at 9.7 percent. (Table D)

The acceleration in the food inflation was primarily influenced by the positive annual growth rate in the index of milk, other dairy products and eggs at 6.4 percent, from -2.7 percent in December 2022.

Faster annual growth rates were also seen in the following food groups:

a. Fish and other seafood, 3.9 percent;

b. Corn, 10.9 percent;

c. Fruits and nuts, 22.3 percent;

d. Oils and fats, 22.9 percent; and

e. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 12.5 percent.

On the contrary, slower annual growth rates were observed in the indices of rice at 6.6 percent; vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 33.1 percent; sugar, confectionery and desserts at 51.2 percent; and ready-made food and other food products at 7.1 percent. (Table D)

Comparing with their respective previous month’s annual rates, three provinces in Davao Region exhibited higher inflation rates in January 2023. Davao Oriental’s inflation of 10.0 percent ranked as the second highest next to Davao de Oro’s 12.2 percent. Davao del Norte remained the province with the lowest inflation at 6.9 percent. (Table E)

The purchasing power of the peso (PPP) shows how much the peso in the base year (2018) is worth in another period. It is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100.

The PPP in Davao Oriental decreased to 0.81. This means that the amount of PhP100.00 in 2018 is equivalent to PhP81.00 in January 2023. In January 2022, the PPP was higher at 0.89. (Figure 2)