Noche Buena prices up

PLANNING to serve spaghetti, fruit salad, macaroni salad, queso de bola or ham to your family this noche buena? Well, brace yourself for a not-so-budget-friendly-holiday meal. The Department of Trade Industry has announced that prices of 93 products normally used as main ingredients for the Christmas eve family gatherings have gone up to more than 10 percent.

The DTI said they have monitored retail price increases by more 10 percent to less than 100 brands of these products — spaghetti sauce, pasta, elbow macaroni, salad macaroni, cheese, mayonnaise, fruit cocktail, keto de bola, sandwich spread, tomato sauce and cream.

Noche buena products are not being regulated by the state.

The DTI said they are only monitoring the prices. Today, they release a price guide for consumers to choose from.

Some of the common noche buena meals and the DTI monitored the prices of their ingredients:

Spaghetti meal

Pasta

Price 2021 : P19-P92.50 in 2021

Price 2022: P25.50-P111.00

Price increase: P4.50-27.75

Spaghetti sauce

Price 2021: P22-P85.90

Price 2022: P23.55-95.50

Price increase: P1.55-14.93

Tomato sauce

Price 2021: P13.85-P80.55

Price 2022: P17.25 – P92.25

Price increase: P1.20 – P18.50

Cheese

Price 2021: P48.90 – P350

Price 2022: P54.35-P371

Price increase: P3 – P21

Fruit salad

Fruit cocktail

Price 2021: P55-P255

Price 2022: P56-P288

Price increase: P.50 – P33.05

Editor’s note: Fruit cocktail not in the Noche Buena SRP guide

All-Purpose Cream

Price 2021: P59-P60

Price 2022: P63 – P75

Price increase: P3 – P16

Cheese (optional)

Price 2021: P48.90 – P350

Price 2022: P54.35-P371

Price increase: P3 – P21

Macaroni salad

Elbow macaroni

Price 2021: P18.75 – 106

Price 2022: P23 – 119

Price increase: P4 – P27.75

Salad macaroni

Price 2021: P27-89.25

Price 2022: P39-117

Price increase: P4 – P27.75

Mayonnaise

Price 2021: P18.90-P223

Price 2022: P24 – P234.15

Price increase: P.60 – P23.45

Sandwich spread

Price 2021: P21-P240

Price 2022: P26 – P252

Price increase: P1.05 – P13.16

Queso de Bola

Price 2021: P177.40-457.10

Price 2022: P199.50-513.75

Price increase: P10-P56.65

Ham

Price 2021: P158 – 862.50

Price 2022: P163 – P892.50

Price decrease: P30

Price increase: P42

To access the entire list of DTI noche buena price guide, you may go to this link.

Malou Talosig-Bartolome

She spent almost a decade as diplomatic reporter for a daily newspaper of national circulation. She also took charge of the regional and international news operations as a senior editor of a major television network.