Suggested retail prices for branded bread products and cement type 1P

Dear Undersecretary Castelo,

Laban
Konsyumer Inc.  respectfully submits for
the DTI action our proposals to include branded bread products and cement Type
1P in the Expanded Suggested Retail Prices of basic necessities and prime
commodities.

On
branded bread products

On
branded bread products, we recall that the DTI announced last year that it was
adding branded bread products in the Expanded SRP issued in October, 2018.
Historically, branded bread were included in the SRP until the DTI launched the
Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal during the term of the Aquino administration. In
consultation with the bread industry, as well as to promote to the consumers
the Pinoy Tasty and pandesal, the branded bread were deleted and in lieu Pinoy
Tasty and pandesal were included.   It
was important to ensure that the prices of Pinoy Tasty and Pandesal remain
uniform in all supermarkets and groceries nationwide.

Last
month, the DTI announced that Gardenia   will reduce prices by 1 to 2 pesos. For
unexplained reasons , and partly we have informed you thru text, that
Gardenia’s  600 gram remained  at Php 64.00 and the 400 gram at Php 46.75 apiece.
Those prices remain as such today. We had monitored that the Gardenia prices
for the pandesal in pack of ten pieces was reduced by 1 peso.  Rolling backwards, the same brand increased
their prices by 1 and 2 pesos a piece in September to October last year,
unilaterally, and it was Laban Konsyumer Inc. that brought the increases to DTI
as well as the media information.

Bread
is a basic necessity under the Price Act, as amended. For the same reasons that
the DTI issued an Expanded SRP on basic necessities and prime commodities, it
would be urgent to add branded products in the list as well.  Laban Konsyumer Inc. is not aware if there
are pending enforcement steps taken by the DTI on the concerned parties, but
the unannounced increases and the noncompliance to a rollback are strong
reasons for DTI to act now.

 On
Cement Type 1P

Another
prime commodity that used to be in the SRP is cement type 1P. We could not
recall when and why cement was deleted in the SRP.  Using data from the DTI E Presyo, please be
informed that retail prices of cement had increased over the last three (3) months.
We summarize selected data and areas for brevity.

 

Area/Brand	Prev price in Php/40 kg bag	A week ago in Php/40 kg bag	A month ago in Php/40 kg bag	3 months ago in Php/40 kg bag
NCR
Manila
Advance	230	230	230	215
Mayon	225	225	225	225
Quezon City
Republic	—	217	217	210
Rizal	215	215	215	—
Advance	220	220	220	220
Makati
Rizal	240	250	235	235
Advance	240	240	240	240
Paranaque
Holcim	225	225	225	225
Rizal	225	225	225	225
Advance	220	220	220	220
Mandaluyong
Rizal	230	230	230	230
Cebu
Cebu City
Apo 203	198	198	198	198
Holcim	195	195	188	188
Mindanao	165	165	165	165
Republic	185	185	185	185
Grand Poz				178
Davao City
Apo	205	205	205	200
Holcim	220	220	220	220
Republic	212	212	205	212
Iloilo
Iloilo City
Apo	215	215	215	215
Holcim	215	215	215	215
Republic	200	200	200	—

There are no monitoring reports from Baguio
City; Calamba, Laguna; Lipa, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro and San Fernando, Pampanga.
 

In 4 hardware stores in Fairview, Quezon
City, Advance Eagle ranges from 215 to 220 while Republic is selling at 230
-235 pesos per 40kg bag.

Based on the DTI E Presyo, the brands of
cement in the monitoring lists are Ha Long, Grand Premium, Red Lion, Mayon,
Northern Cement, Grand Pozzolan, Advance Eagle, Rizal, Republic, Holcim Excel,
Apo and Mindanao.

We propose that the brands listed in the
DTI E –Presyo be maintained and a separate SRP for Luzon including NCR, Visayas
and Mindanao. 

Industry sources show that pick up prices
from local plants and importer warehouses range from Php 185 – Php 195 pesos
per 40 kg bag and add Php 10.00 transport per bag and maximum Php 20.00 per bag
margin or profit for the supply chain, and SRP of Php 210 to 215.00 per bag is
reasonable at this time.

Thank you for your prompt consideration.