Inflation seen to cool down within 6.3% to 7.1% in April

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said it has entered into an agreement with South Korea to fortify agricultural collaboration through the exchange of resources.

In a statement, the DA said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Kyungpook National University (KNU) of South Korea last Monday.

“The MOU, signed by DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) director Joell Lales, and KNU Daegu Gyeongbuk International Development Cooperation Center director Hwa Seok Hwang, aims to promote the exchange of scientific and technical resources related to agriculture and rural development,” it said.

The MOU, which was signed in the presence of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who is concurrent Agriculture Secretary, covers the agriculture and fishery development cooperation.

Under the agreement, “principles of clustering, consolidation, and professional- expected to emanate from higher domestic petroleum prices, increased rice and meat prices, and peso depreciation. ization of human resources” shall be highlighted through various activities.

TheBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is projecting that inflation will continue its downtrend this month on the back of easing food, fuel, and utility prices.

“The activities will include organization of professional education and staff development programs, through training courses, symposia and conferences training on digital or smart agriculture, data science for agriculture, and advanced agricultural technology, among others,” the DA said.

Besides these, programs to provide growth for staff shall be also given, as well as continuous support to Master’s degree scholars.

Following the MOU signing, the Chief Executive also visited the exhibition of collaborative projects of the DA-Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO).

Among the projects shown were a “corn mill project, lifter machine, onion mechanization system, truck-mounted and wall sprayer for African swine fever (ASF) and avian

In its month-ahead forecast, the BSP said it expects inflation— the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services—to settle within the range of 6.3% to 7.1% in April.

The central bank’s forecast range is lower than the 7.6% inflation print recorded in March.

“Lower electricity rates, the decline in prices of fish and vegetables, and rollback in LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) prices contributed to easing price pressures during the month,” the BSP said.

The central bank, however, said upward price pressures are

“Going forward, the BSP remains prepared to respond appropriately to continuing inflation risks in line with its data-dependent approach to monetary policy formulation,” it said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority is set to release official inflation rate figures for April on May 5, 2023.