Factory gate prices accelerate in January

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

March 1, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Prices at the factory gate accelerated in January from the previous month, driven mainly by food products, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Data released by the PSA showed that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufacturing – a measure of prices of goods as they leave factories – grew by 1.5 percent in January, faster than the 0.8 percent uptick in December 2025.

The January PPI growth was also higher than the 0.9 percent increase in the same month last year.

The PSA attributed the uptrend in PPI growth primarily to prices of food products, which posted a 1.3 percent increase in January, a turnaround from the 0.1 percent dip in December 2025.

“The manufacture of food products contributed 38.5 percent to the faster annual growth rate of PPI for manufacturing in January 2026,” the PSA said.

Other main contributors to the faster PPI increase in January were computer, electronic and optical products and machinery and equipment.

In particular, factory gate prices of computer, electronic and optical products registered a 2.6 percent increase in January from the previous month’s 0.8 percent increment.

Prices of machinery and equipment except electrical rose by 2.2 percent in January from a 0.4 percent dip in December 2025.

Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, nine posted increases in PPI in January. These are coke and refined petroleum products; basic metals; transport equipment; tobacco products; fabricated metal products; wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products; other manufacturing and repair and installation of machinery and equipment; furniture; and leather and related products, including footwear.

Meanwhile, 10 industry divisions registered declines in January. These are non-metallic mineral products; beverages: electrical equipment; rubber and plastic products; paper and paper products; basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations; chemicals and chemical products; wearing apparel: textiles; and printing and reproduction of recorded media.