Tina Cruz, a single mother of three teens, has done a lot to cut household expenses but says she’s at the point where stretching her hard-earned income can no longer keep up with higher expenses, from groceries to electricity.
He wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Prices of basic consumer goods and services in Guam increased by 6.9% in the third quarter of 2023 from the previous year.
It is based on a key measure of local inflation, the quarterly consumer price index report from the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans.
Although inflation is not as bad as in previous quarters, prices are still shockingly high for many.
Rice, along with other cereal products, became more expensive by about 17.6% during the July-September period compared to the previous year.
What this means in dollar terms: A Dededo store posted a price increase on a bag of rice from $25 to $28.99 during that period.
The prices of bread, eggs, fish and seafood, non-alcoholic drinks and cooking oil also increased significantly in that quarter compared to last year. The total food index in the third quarter increased by 6.3% compared to last year.
Caring for pets also has a heavy price, as the cost of pet food and pet products has increased by 32.9.
Car insurance was 16.5% higher, while the cost of hospital and related services increased by 13.9%.
Even the cost of burying a loved one jumped 23.1%.
Record annual inflation
Between 2007 and 2022, Guam’s average annual inflation is negative 0.9% to 7.9%.
Amid pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, Guam sees its average annual inflation rise to 7.9% in 2022 compared to 3.8% in 2021, 1.7% in 2020, and 1.8% in 2019.
And for 2023, Guam could post its highest average annual inflation of 8.7% in 17 years, although the fourth quarter 2023 consumer index report is still being prepared.
Matthew C. Santos, deputy director at the Bureau of Statistics and Plans, said while the numbers suggest that Guam may be headed for high inflation by the end of 2023, it is important to recognize that the third quarter of 2023 “is the first quarter we’ve seen inflation taper off.”
Santos said the first quarter of 2023 was the three-month period “where there was a significant increase in the cost for energy and food.”
“So even if we see inflation continue to decline in Q4 2023, the overall average inflation for the year will be high because of the increases we saw in the first two quarters,” he told Pacific Daily News.
The 6.9% increase in prices for the second quarter compared to last year was driven mainly by food and medical costs, he said.
Lower electricity costs
Electricity costs decreased by 5.9% in July-September 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022.
After Typhoon Mawar hit in May, neighborhoods experienced power outages for weeks and months, as well as rotating blackouts.
However, electricity costs in the third quarter posted a significant decline from the second quarter, when they rose 35.5% from last year.
The BSP’s Santos said overall inflation decreased from the previous quarter “mainly due to lower electricity costs.” The decrease was 1.7% from the previous quarter.
Motor gasoline or auto gas also fell 9.2% from a year ago and from the previous quarter.
Mawar’s impact on local crops, according to Santos, was not a major factor in the overall increase in food costs for two reasons.
“Vegetables have a relative importance of 1/100 for our overall CPI calculation. Local vegetables are a small part of the vegetables we season. So the impact from changes in the cost of local vegetables on our overall CPI is not material,” he said.
The CPI report measures the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by Guam households. More than 1,060 price quotes were collected from about 200 business outlets.
The latest report shows 161.5 index points in the third quarter of 2023, down from 164.3 in the second quarter of 2023, but an increase from 151.1 points in the third quarter of 2022.
Still expensive
Even if overall inflation rates are down, that doesn’t mean families are seeing grocery costs go down.
“We’re getting by, but it’s hard,” said Cruz, the working mother of three, about how they cope with the high cost of groceries and other services. “We changed our ways of eating. We learned how to save more, less starch, less rice, bread, noodles, less meat, and more vegetables and fruits. In my household, we don’t drink of sweets. All water.”
They regularly buy 50-pound bags of rice, but have learned how to live with a smaller bag. And that switch prepared him for the jump in the price of rice.
But for Cruz’s family, while the shift to fruits and vegetables makes for healthier choices, prices have also risen.
Fresh vegetables and fruits rose 11% and 10.1%, respectively, based on the latest consumer price index report.
The Cruz family also stayed away from eating out frequently.
“Not like what we usually do. We only do Saturday and Wednesday. They get off school, I leave work, we go to dinner. Sunday, we go to church and we stay at home,” said the mother.
Prices of meals away from home or eating out also increased by 8.4%.
The Cruz family also started using solar LEDs to save on electricity in the long run, the mother said.
While the $100 per month energy credit helped the Cruz household along with other Guam Power Authority customers for several months, that program just ended.
Rent and lodging also increased by 6.5%.
Johnny Aldan, a resident of Mangilao, said that with higher grocery costs, his family has reduced the purchase of so-called junk food, but he said that even fruits and vegetables from the flea market have become ” will be loved” in the last days.
“And at the grocery store, you get 10 items and they’re $100,” he said. “I don’t think prices will go down.”
Here are the highest average price increases from the third quarter 2022 compared to the third quarter 2023, based on the latest quarterly consumer price index report:
- Pets, pet food, pet products, 32.9%
- Personal care products, 30.6%
- Funeral expenses, 23.1%
- Rice, cereal products, 17.6%
- Tools, hardware, outdoor equipment, 16.7%
- Car insurance, 16.5%
- Juice, non-alcoholic beverages, 14.5%
- Women’s clothing, 14.2%
- Hospital and related services, 13.9%
- Cooking oil, fat, 13.7%
- Housekeeping and supplies, 13.6%
- Men’s clothing, 12.5%
- Personal care services, 12.4%
- Infant and toddler clothing, 12.4%
- Tuition and other school fees, 11.6%
Items that saw an average price drop in the third quarter:
- Housekeeping operations, 12.1%
- Appliances, 12.1%
- Men’s clothing, 9.3%
- Fuel engine, 9.2%
- Shoes, 8.6%
- Appliances, 6.2%
- Electricity, 5.9%
