Retail prices of products used in Noche Buena or Christmas dinner like ham, spaghetti, cheese are stable, Trade and Industry Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said Tuesday.

“They are stable. We still have enough supply,” Castelo told the “Laging Handa” briefing.

“We issued the Noche Buena price guide earlier this month. This price guide shows the prices of the products that can be seen in retail stores. We made a range of prices, from the cheapest to the most expensive so that they can choose from that list what fits their budget and what choices they want,” she added.

The DTI has not monitored any store that was overpricing Noche Buena products, Castelo said.

“The Noche Buena price guide is not regulated by the government because they are seasonal products. They’re neither basic nor prime so the manufacturers decide their prices,” Castelo said.

“But we are monitoring if there is a sudden surge of prices compared to the previous prices, the prevailing price, that’s when we are alerted,'' she said.

Castelo said businesses want their products to be sold '' because they don't want to think about the cost of cold storage, which they need if they have to store them until next year.''

The DTI previously stated that P500 was enough to spend on a Christmas dinner for a family of five members. Jaspearl Tan/DMS