Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Ilocos Region in May 2021 was posted at 126.6. This means that on the average, prices of goods and services in the region increased by 26.6 percent from the base year 2012.    

The region’s CPI was recorded at 121.3 in May 2020 and 126.8  in April 2021.     

Among the provinces, Pangasinan posted the highest price index in May 2021 at 129.4 or 5.1 percent from the May 2020 index of 123.1. Ilocos Norte followed at 128.7 and Ilocos Sur at 123.3. Both provinces have increased price indices of 2.5 percent and 4.7 percent compared to their respective levels a year ago. Meanwhile, La Union has the lowest price index of 117.7 with an increase of 2.6 percent from May 2020 price index.

By Commodity Group

The top three commodity groups that recorded high price indices  in the region in May 2021 were: alcoholic beverages and tobacco (236.7); food and non-alcoholic beverages (135.9); and furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (126.9).   On the other hand, the bottom three commodity groups with low price indices were: communication (101.8); transport (109.5); and education (111.3).  

As shown in Figure 3, the inflation rate in the Ilocos Region settled at 4.4 percent in May 2021. Its annual rate in the previous month was 4.5 percent, while 2.2 percent in May 2020.

The highest inflation rate in the region was recorded in February 2021 at 4.6 percent. Meanwhile, the lowest inflation rate was noted in the month of May 2020 at 2.2 percent.

The inflation rate of the region is lower by 0.1 percentage point  from April 2021 to May 2021. Compared from May 2020, inflation rate in May 2021 is higher by 2.2 percentage points.

By Province

Among the provinces in the region, Pangasinan posted the highest inflation rate at 5.1 percent in May 2021, followed by Ilocos Sur at 4.7 percent. Inflation rates in La Union and Ilocos Norte were pegged at 2.6 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

Compared to their respective levels in May 2020, all provinces, except Ilocos Norte, recorded higher inflation rates. Pangasinan has the highest increase of 3.2 percentage points. But compared to the previous month, Pangasinan is the lone province that recorded a decrease in inflation rate from 5.8 to 5.1. Ilocos Sur sustained its inflation rate at 4.7 percent. 

By commodity group, transport recorded the highest inflation rate in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan. In La Union, the highest inflation rate was registered in the alcoholic beverages and tobacco commodity. Meanwhile, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels posted the lowest in Ilocos Norte. Recreation and culture has the lowest inflation rate in Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan. 

Among the provinces, La Union posted the highest PPP in May 2021 with Php 0.85. It was followed by Ilocos Sur with Php 0.81 PPP.  Meanwhile, the least were recorded in Ilocos Norte and Pangasinan with Php 0.78 and Php 0.77, respectively.

It can be gleaned in Figure 5 that PPPs in all the provinces decreased from May 2020 to May 2021. The PPPs in Ilocos Norte and La Union went down by Php 0.02 while Php 0.04 in Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan.