The price increase in flour may reach only P100 per 25 bag flour instead of P250 as prices of wheat in the international market has started to come down.

Ric Pinca, executive director of the Philippine Association of Flour Millers Inc., told reporters that millers are going to implement the price hike in tranches.

Millers are starting to implement the first tranche of P60 price increase. The next two tranches may come in another P50 increase by October and perhaps another P50 by November or December depending on  the price of wheat in the market by then.

But Pinca is confident that price hike could be mitigated to as much as P100 only as prices of wheat has started to come down to $706 per bushel last August 6 from $706 per bushel a week ago
Pinca said this is the first time in two years that millers are raising their prices. The highest price flour was pegged at P980 per bag and has come down to P690 to P700 per bag at present.

Meantime, the six month duty-free extension on wheat imports is yet to be acted by the National Economic and Development Authority after the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters, approval.

Executive Order 863 covering the duty-free importation on wheat will expire on August 26.

Pinca said that millers are concerned because they have imports coming in on August 24 and the Bureau of Customs are reluctant not to slap tariffs on imports coming in unless the Tariff Commission issues an order directing for the continued duty-free import privilege.