In line with this, the department has promised to conduct a “more agressive action” to protect consumers.
According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., rising food prices driven by holiday demand and lingering supply disruptions pushed inflation noticeably higher in December 2025.
He told, “While rice prices continue to deflate, higher prices driven by holiday demand, weather damage, and supply bottlenecks lifted December inflation.“
The secretary emphanized that these factors mean that the DA “must move faster” by tightening market monitoring, accelerating production, swiftly deploying available stocks, and expanding safety-net support, such as the P20 rice program, to blunt price spikes.
Food inflation climbed to 1.2 percent in December 2025, reversing a 0.3 percent annual decline in November. Although, it still trailed the 3.5 percent rate seen a year earlier.
The higher food prices also ended a six-month deflation streak for the bottom 30 percent income households, whose inflation rose to 1.1 percent in December—which raised concerns about near-term cost pressures for vulnerable consumers.
The food price rebound was anchored by a slower drop in rice prices as well, with 12.3 percent seen in December versus a steeper 15.4 percent fall in November, as well as the sharply higher prices for vegetables, tubers, plantains and related produce, which jumped to 11.6 percent from 4.0 percent.
Corn prices also reversed course, with the corn index rising 7.3 percent after falling the previous month.
As for other staples such as flour, bakery products, pasta, fish, fruits and ready-to-eat foods also saw faster price increases during the holiday season.
Partly offsetting these gains, though, were softer inflation in meat, dairy products, eggs and oils and fats, while sugar and confectionery recorded a deeper annual decline.
Food accounted for nearly a quarter of December’s headline inflation, contributing 0.4 percentage point.