DAVAO CITY – In line with its commitment to protect and empower consumers continuously, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11 has widened its dissemination of the price guide for school supplies while intensifying its monitoring efforts regionwide.
The DTI Head Office issued the latest “Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies” in June to aid consumers when purchasing school items as the school year begins this month of July. “The Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies serves as a reference and guide when buying basic school supplies for the incoming students. This also empowers the consumer to make informed choices by comparing prices and finding the best deals that their budget can afford,” DTI 11 Regional Director Romeo L. Castañaga shared.
This price guide for school year 2024-2025 has eight categories and 173 different school items (also known as Stock Keeping Units or SKUs), a significant increase by 56 SKUs from last year’s 117 SKUs. This includes items like notebooks, pad papers, pencils, ballpens, crayons, erasers, sharpeners, and rulers. The price movement of the 117 SKUs are as follows: 68% have maintained their 2023 prices; 8% have shown a decrease; and 24% have increased due to paper costs, crayon quality upgrades, and production cost.
Amid the changes in the prices of some school supplies, DTI has been in close coordination with manufacturers and suppliers. It was noted that the slight price increase of certain items was due to the global increase in the cost of basic raw materials used to manufacture school supplies.
Castañaga emphasized the importance of the 2024 School Supplies Price Guide, which the DTI Consumer Affairs and Advocacy Bureau (CAAB) facilitated, to ensure fair pricing for essential school items as the new school year begins.
“The price guide empowers consumers to find quality and affordable school supplies. Even though slight price adjustments in some items are evident, we assure everyone that prices listed therein remains reasonable,” Castañaga said.
The regional trade chief urges consumers to be vigilant when buying school supplies. They are encouraged to check the following product labels:
- pad paper – Number of pages, paper type (book, bond, or econobond)
- crayons – Brand name, number of crayons in the box, “non-toxic” label indicating the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approval, country of origin
- pencils – Brand name, hardness grade (No. 1, 2, 3), country of origin
- ballpens – Brand name, tip classification (fine, medium, etc.), manufacturer’s name and address
For a smoother shopping experience, DTI recommends creating a school supply list and browsing the 2024 Price Guide before heading to the bookstores or department stores.
In the meantime, the DTI 11 provincial and field offices throughout the region have been visiting various establishments selling school supplies to monitor their prices and the availability of the items included in the guide.
The 2024 Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies can be accessed at https://www.dti.gov.ph/konsyumer/e-presyo/. For concerns related to this advisory, the agency can be reached at landline number (082) 224-0511 local 417. A message can be sent, too, to DTI 11’s official Facebook page, the DTI Region 11, for more convenience. ♦
Date of release: 07 August 2024
