The headline inflation rate in Ilocos Sur declined to 3.0 percent in March 2025, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the 4.2 percent recorded in February 2025. Furthermore, this month’s inflation rate marks an increase of 2.4 percentage points compared to the same month in the previous year, which had an inflation rate of 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the headline inflation rate for the Ilocos Region in March 2025 was reported at 2.1 percent. This rate is 0.9 percentage point lower than that of the province and 0.3 percentage point higher than the national inflation rate, which stood at 1.8 percent. The national inflation rate decreased by 0.3 percentage point in March 2025 compared to the previous month, when it was recorded at 2.1 percent.

Figure 1 illustrates the headline inflation rates in Ilocos Sur from March 2024 to March 2025. Deflation was observed in May 2024 at -0.1 percent, while the highest inflation rate was recorded in February 2025 at 5.3 percent. This was followed by a gradual decrease in the subsequent months, reaching 3.0 percent by March 2025.

The downward trend in the overall inflation rate has been attributed to the following commodity groups: Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, at 4.1 percent from 6.4 percent with 75.6 percent share to downtrend; Clothing and Footwear, at 2.9 percent from 3.3 percent; Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuel, at 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent; Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, at 2.3 percent from 3.1 percent; Health, at  1.5 percent from 2.4 percent; Transport, at -1.5 percent from -0.6 percent; Information and Communication, at -0.1 percent from 0.0 percent; Recreation, Sport and Culture, at 2.1 percent from 3.2 percent; Restaurants and Accommodation Services, at 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent; and Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, at 3.9 percent from 5.4 percent.

Conversely, the only commodity group that experienced an increase in inflation rate compared to the previous month was Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, at 3.6 percent from 3.3 percent.

The remaining major commodity groups showed no change in their inflation rates for March 2025 compared to the previous month.

Food inflation in the province decelerated to 4.2 percent in March 2025 from 6.6 percent in February 2025. The following food groups exhibited decreases in inflation rates during the month:
a.    Rice, at -8.1 percent from -1.6 percent; 
b.    Corn, at 27.3 percent from -13.0 percent;
c.    Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, at 9.8 percent from 11.1 percent;
d.    Fruits and nuts, 23.9 at percent from 26.5 percent;
e.    Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, at 6.8 percent from 11.9 percent; and
f.    Sugar, confectionery, and desserts, at 0.9 percent from 1.3 percent.

On the other hand, the following food groups posted increases in inflation rates:
a.    Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, at 4.5 percent from 4.2 percent;
b.    Fish and other seafood, at 10.8 percent from 8.4 percent;
c.    Milk, other dairy products, and eggs, at 2.7 percent from 1.3 percent; and
d.    Ready-made food and other food products, at 10.2 percent from 9.6 percent.

Meanwhile, only Oils and fats at 1.2 percent showed no change in their inflation rates for March 2025 compared to the previous month.

SGD. JEANETTE M. MARZAN
Chief Statistical Specialist
Ilocos Sur Provincial Statistical Office