The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will do away with the suggested retail price (SRP)  system and will let market forces play.

Ramon Lopez, DTI secretary, told reporters he will order the review of the Consumer Act on how the agency can deregulate the market and remove the price setting mechanism that is being supervised by the agency.

Lopez said he will also order the review of the current structure of industries to determine the number of players and if consumers have sufficient options to choose from.

While at present SRPs are set by manufacturers themselves  and these are used as a guide, the DTI has seen this  no longer relevant since in most cases prices are lower than SRPs due to competition.

“As long as there are many players and the supply chain is good, lower prices are assured because of competition. Each player wants a share of the market. If a brand sets its  price higher, he will price himself out of the market,” Lopez said.

“We want to let the market decide,” said Lopez noting that in the past manufacturers cannot increase their prices without DTI approval.

“We want to do away with that. The principle of SRP setting  is to reduce bureaucracy… not to regulate. It’s up to the manufacturers to set their prices. Consumers  nowadays have several options to choose from in terms of prices and brands.. there are generic or unbranded products   mid-range and premium of the same kind of products. There are also imports,” he  added

Lopez said for industries where there are a handful of players like oil and cement, prices will be monitored to avoid collusion.