With the “ber” months just around the corner, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Thursday urged Filipinos to consider doing early Christmas shopping to avoid price hikes.

“Kung kaya rin lang natin na mag-ipon na or mag-stock na ng mga ganitong produkto, puwede na tayong mamili habang hindi pa gumagalaw ang presyo (If only we can save or stock such products, we can shop while the price has not changed),” DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said in a Laging Handa public briefing.

However, Castelo said this would only apply to products that do not easily expire.

She noted that prices of Christmas products will start to increase as Christmas approaches.

“Eventually tataas na naman ang presyo or ‘pag malapit na. Kapag nagmamadali na ang mga tao, hindi nila napapansin tumaas pala ang presyo or tinaas pala noong mga retailers or manufacturers iyong presyo so mas maganda na makabili na sila nang mas maaga (Eventually, the price will increase again or when it’s close. Because when people are in a hurry, they don’t notice that the price has increased or that the retailers or manufacturers have raised your price, so it’s better for them to buy earlier),” she added.

To score the best deals, Castelo suggested buying food products in bundles as they would be cheaper as compared to when they are bought as single items.

“Mayroong mga savings iyan na mga PHP20 up to PHP70 na savings kapag bumibili sila ng bundled products (You can save as much as PHP20 up to PHP70 if you purchase bundled products),” she said.

Castelo said the DTI will also be releasing the suggested retail prices (SRP) of noche buena items during last week of October or early November.

Items in the noche buena SRP list include ham, cheese, keso de bola, sandwich spread, mayonnaise, pasta, macaroni among others.

The Christmas season in the Philippines kicks off on September 1st or the start of ber months until January the following year.

Christmas is the longest celebrated season in the country. (PNA)