The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) here forecasts a continued deceleration in the province’s inflation numbers on expectations of an ample harvest in the remainder of the first quarter.

In an interview on Tuesday, Johnny Solis, chief statistical specialist at PSA-Romblon, said favorable climate conditions point to a good supply of vegetables and other agricultural produce, which, if sustained, will continue tempering inflationary pressures in February and March.

He noted, however, that price pressures in the second quarter of 2024 are likely to be decided by how badly the province and the rest of the country are affected by the El Niño phenomenon later this year.

In January, Romblon’s year-on-year inflation rate slowed down to 6.7 percent, representing a significant decline compared to the 8.1 percent recorded in December and the 7.3 percent in November 2023.

“Consumers owe last month’s relative price stability to the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages segment. There has been a sufficient supply of vegetables, chicken, fish, and even pork in the province. This condition serves to hold back price increases,” Solis told the Philippine News Agency in Filipino.

The PSA official particularly highlighted the apparent improvement in the local supply of pork as Romblon steadily recovers from an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF).

It can be recalled that Romblon’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial council) put the province under a state of calamity last November following an ASF outbreak in several towns.

This prompted municipal authorities in affected areas to implement “depopulation” or culling measures, affecting the local production of pork.

However, Solis explained that while quarantine measures around the province are still in effect, new ASF cases have been rare or non-existent in recent weeks, allowing many piggeries to resume normal production.

Meanwhile, despite the overall slowdown in inflation last month, the inflation rate for rice in the province rose to 15.2 percent, up from the 12.6 percent recorded in the previous month. (PNA)