THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will start distributing copies of the new suggested retail prices (SRPs) for Noche Buena products to major retailers in Negros Occidental next week.
Reginald Hudierez, senior trade and industry development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental, said Thursday they will first distribute copies of the new price guidelines to supermarkets and other retail establishments in Bacolod City, where out-of-town stores source their products.
The DTI Central Office, in a report, said the new SRPs issued this week will be published this weekend.
Hudierez said they have yet to get the final copy of the SRPs.
After its distribution, regular market monitoring especially among major retailers will be conducted.
“We will see to it that the new price guidelines are being complied by local establishments,” Hudierez said, reiterating that “non-compliance with SRPs, regardless on the amount of overpricing, will serve as basis for DTI to call the attention of erring establishments and charge them for profiteering.”
Noche Buena products under the agency’s monitoring include ham, fruit cocktail, cheese, mayonnaise, queso de bola, pasta spaghetti, elbow and salad macaroni, spaghetti and tomato sauce, and creamer.
The DTI initially reported that prices of ham now range from P137 to P949, depending on the brand and net weight.
For fruit cocktail, the new SRPs range from P46.10 to P2017.90; queso de bola, P149 to P450; pasta spaghetti, P15.25 to P88; and spaghetti sauce, P20.50 to P83.30.
“We have yet to get a complete list of SRPs from Central Office, especially those of other Noche Buena products, to check whether there are increases in the prices this year,” Hudierez said.
DTI-Negros Occidental records showed that in 2016, SRPs for ham range from P135 to P845.75.
Last year, fruit cocktail cost P45.65 to P204; cheese, P44.50 to P588.50; sandwich spread, P18 to P196; mayonnaise, P27 to P245; queso de bola, P149.60 to P445; pasta spaghetti, P15.25 to P87.10; elbow and salad macaroni, P15.25 to P93.45; spaghetti sauce, P18.70 to P81; tomato sauce, P41.65 to P67.50; and creamer, P41.65 to P67.50.
Like ham, prices of these products also depend on the brand and net weight.
Hudierez said they will also prioritize chain of stores in their monitoring as he pointed out that out-of-town branches should have “online” or the same pricing with their stores in Bacolod City.
They can only make adjustments, whether higher or lower than the SRPs, if there is an instruction from their respective central offices or head companies, he said.
“Penalties will be identified based on the assessment to be conducted by the agency considering factors like prevailing market situation and distance of retailers from the product sources, among others,” Hudierez added. (EPN with reports from PNA)