Barely any surge in school supply prices: DTI

Castelo noted that school supplies are seasonal because these are purchased only during the enrollment period. (File Photo: Sergiy Galyonkin/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

MANILA – The prices of school supplies have mostly stayed the same since the onset of the pandemic, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said Thursday.

In a Laging Handa public briefing, DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo assured that most supply sellers have not increased the prices of their products.

“Iyong school supplies naman kasi nakita natin 2020 and 2021 ay halos hindi naman talaga nabili iyong mga supplies na ito. So, iyong presyo niyan halos pareho pa rin from 2019 up to ngayon (School supplies were almost never sold in 2020 and 2021. Thus, their prices are still almost the same from 2019 up to now),” she said.

Castelo acknowledged that some sellers have increased the prices of their products but only for new stocks.

“Mayroon lang mga bahagyang nagtaas, iyong mga bagong stocks na. Pero iyong mga lumang supply na dati na namang nandiyan, iyon ang hindi nagtaas (There has been a slight increase in the prices of some products but these are new stocks. As for the old supplies, their prices did not increase),” she added.

Castelo also clarified that the price guide issued by the DTI is merely a guide and that school products vary depending on their quality, make, and volume.

“Iyong price guide that we issued on school supplies ay hindi naman ito natin strictly ini-enforce na iisyuhan natin sila ng letters of inquiry or notices of violation dahil ito po ay gabay lang naman para sa mga mamimili kung magkano lang talaga nila dapat maibigay iyan (The price guide that we issued for school supplies is not strictly enforced by us that we need to issue them letters of inquiry or notices of violation. It is just a guide for buyers to know how much they should pay),” she said.

Castelo noted that school supplies are seasonal because these are purchased only during the enrollment period.

She, however, said DTI would call the attention of retailers who sell their school supplies higher than 10 percent of their previous prices for the past three months.

Enrollment in public schools for School Year 2022-2023 began on July 25 and ended on the first day of classes, August 22.