Amid continued vaccination to address the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country, hog meat remains the top contributor of May inflation which slowed down to 1.3 percent, lowest in around five years.

In a press conference on Thursday, the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) said headline inflation further slowed to 1.3 percent in May from 1.4 percent in April, marking the lowest recorded since November 2019, when it stood at 1.2 percent.

It is also consistent with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP's) forecast range of 0.9 to 1.7 percent.

PSA data shows that the inflation of pork increased to 11.9 percent in May from 10.3 percent in April.

Hog meat was also the top contributor of last April's headline inflation although it slightly eased from 10.8 percent in March.

In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, Assistant Agriculture Secretary Arnel De Mesa said vaccination of hogs in areas affected by ASF continues, noting the possibility of resurgence of the disease as the rainy season started this month.

"A lot of farmers are now using vaccines in areas of Region 3 and Region 4A and the vaccination continues," he said.

"The vaccine is effective in affected areas that is why from almost 600 barangays with active cases practically it was reduced to less than 13 this year, now with the start of the rainy season the farmers are worried about the 3rd quarter storm so they are preparing on how to avoid the spread of the ASF," he added.

The other major contributor to May inflation includes rental with 1.8 percent followed by restaurant, cafe and the like with 2.1 percent, other pelagic fish with 6.6 percent and poultry meat with 7.9 percent.

De Mesa also noted that the bottom 30 percent income households experienced zero percent inflation in May which reflects a sharp decline from 5.3 percent in the same month last year.

Food inflation also declined significantly to 2 percent, down from 8.2 percent in May 2024 while food inflation at the national level remained steady at 0.7 percent in May, unchanged from April, and significantly lower than the 6.1 percent recorded in May 2024.

DEPDev Office-in-Charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon said the May 2025 headline inflation "reflects the success of our sustained efforts to protect the purchasing power of Filipinos and ensure a more affordable cost of living.”

“We remain committed to executing the necessary measures to keep prices low and stable. With this, we are optimistic about the government meeting its headline inflation target of 2 to 4 percent for the year,” she added. Robina Asido/DMS