GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
ADVERTISEMENT
Filtered By: Money
Money
Prices of fish, veggies leap in Metro Manila as floods disrupt supply chains
Housewife Jenny Garzola, 37, who goes to Farmers Market in Cubao, is adding more vegetables to the meals she will be cooking for her family of five to stretch her P400 budget until Friday
Fish prices have soared in stormy weather.
Fish prices have soared in stormy weather.
At Farmers Market in Quezon City on Wednesday, the price of dalagang bukid, usually pegged at P100/kilo, rose to P120/kilo. Photos by Xianne Arcangel
“Hindi na pwede yung tig-isa kaming isda kasi mahal yun ngayon. Hati-hati na lang muna, tapos siguro magluluto na lang ako ng gulay na may sabaw,” she said. "Isa’t kalahating kilong galunggong lang mabibili ko sa P200, wala pa kaming bigas. Tiis-tiis na lang muna kami."
The fish are jumping in price in Metro Manila, in utter disregard of government guidelines on how much consumers should pay for goods, as the normal supply chains were disrupted by days of relentless rain and flood that plagued much of Luzon.
There were some vendors who complained of not being able to open their stalls and do business because there was nothing to sell after deliveries were canceled when trucks could no longer pass through roads – some of which were chest-deep in flood.
Vegetable prices have doubled and even tripled in some cases. Fresh produce seller Manny, who rents a stall in a public market in Caloocan, said prices particularly of kangkong, eggplant and potatoes have increased tremendously since the rains started last weekend.
"Yung kangkong, dati P30 per kilo, kanina nabili namin ng P80 to P100," he told GMA News Online on Wednesday. "Pero P5 per bundle pa din namin binebenta, yun nga lang binabawasan na namin."
The vendor said talong or eggplant was delivered to the market Wednesday morning for P300 a kilo. “But before it was only for P100... That's why we raised the price per bundle of threes and fours by P10 to P40."
The same goes for potato prices which the vendors in the Caloocan market increased by P10 to P40 per kilo.
In its latest available price monitoring guideline, the Department of Trade and Industry noted the prevailing prices per kilo of kangkong, eggplant and potato were pegged at P30.
Once a poor man's fish
The price of galunggong – once dubbed “the poor man’s fish” – rose by at least P30, or 30 percent, in wet markets three days after the onslaught of monsoon rains affected Metro Manila and several provinces in Northern and Central Luzon.
From a retail price of P100 a kilo last week, the fish carried a price tag of P130 to P140 – depending on the size – Wednesday.
Other saltwater fish like hasa-hasa, bisugo, dalagang bukid and talakitok were also selling at P20 to P40 more than they were a week ago because the monsoon rains enhanced by Storm Maring made it more difficult for fishing operators to ply their trade, according to vendors at Farmers Market in Cubao, Quezon City.
Cristina Aquino, who sells fish at Farmers Market, noted the schedule of deliveries was not totally disrupted by the situation but fewer trucks and jeeps were making their way to the market. In other words, it was more of a supply problem than a logistical one on the part of suppliers.
“Kung dati mga lima o anim na truck yung dumarating dito para mag-deliver, ngayon isa o dalawa na lang. Konti na lang yung pinapaluwas na truck dito sa Maynila kasi wala ring ma-deliver na isda yung mga supplier namin,” she said.
Aquino said several fish vendors source their fish from Dagupan in Pangasinan and Lucban in Quezon, two areas that were badly hit by the strong rains in the past three days.
Higher transport cost
For vegetable vendor Aling Beng, it was more a case of logistics than supply. She noted that farm produce was hardly getting through to the Balintawak market in Caloocan as roads were flooded.
"'Di namin tinaasan ang presyo, pero nahirapan kami sa pagkuha ng mga gulay sa Balintawak," she said.
The same holds true for Aling Mary who retails rice. "Araw-araw nag-di-deliver ng bigas dito kaso ngayon wala pa yung delivery," she said.
Although bangus and tilapia are usually cultivated in fish pens that were were not severely affected by the latest storm, prices rose by P20 from last week as suppliers encountered difficulties in transporting the fish to Metro Manila from Pangasinan, some 188 kilometers to the north, where flooding also occurred.
A medium-sized bangus now retails for P140 from P120 last week while tilapia sells for P110 from P90.
Patricio Landagan, a Farmers Market-based wholesaler who supplies fish to small markets in nearby Rizal province, said he bought bangus at a higher price Wednesday despite buying in bulk. He noted that suppliers charged him more to recoup the expenses incurred in transporting the fish in bad weather.
“Ninety pesos na yung kuha ko ngayon kahit dati mga P80 to P85 lang per kilo, kasi ang sabi sa amin [ng supplier], kinailangan nilang mag-reroute dahil sa mga baha para maka-pag-deliver kaya napamahal sila sa gasolina,” he said.
A vendor at Farmers Market in Quezon City prepares fish for a customer on Wednesday.
More of bad weather?
Meanwhile, meat vendor Concepcion Pacris of the Caloocan market was not able to open her stall on Tuesday as she had nothing to sell. She told GMA News Online on Wednesday that she usually buys meat products from the Blumentritt market in Sta. Cruz, only this time she wasn't able to make the trip because of the flood.
"Hindi ako nakapagtinda nung Tuesday kasi sobrang lakas ng ulan at ang taas ng baha, eh, sa Blumentritt pa ko kumukuha ng baboy," Pacris said.
Many stall owners in Caloocan did not open shop on Wednesday because of the rain and a lack of supply of fresh produce.
Aquino of Farmers Market surmised that sales were slow for fish vendors in the last three days because fewer people were going to the market. Unfavorable weather and not higher prices was the primary reason.
“Alam naman ng mga tao na tumataas talaga ang presyo ng isda kapag bumabagyo. Kaunti lang talaga ang namimili simula pa noong Lunes dahil maulan,” she said.
Next week's scenario
Prices of meat and vegetables at Farmers Market were so far stable, but vegetable vendor Carmen Malasig said prices might go up next week when the stockpile of suppliers runs out.
“Hindi pa kami nagtataas ngayon kasi pareho [ng presyo] pa rin ang bigay sa amin ng suppliers, pero by next week siguro, magtataas kami dahil panigurado kaunti na lang ang delivery sa amin dahil sira na yung mga gulayan ngayon,” she said.
Farm products like egg, bananas, garlic and onion remained stable in the Caloocan market. Cooking oil was also unchanged, vendors noted. "Yung saging P35 pa din, pati yung sibuyas P40 at yung bawang P55 pa din," said Maria Salvoza.
Aling Helen, meanwhile, said a four-egg pack was selling at P20, cooking oil at P5 per small plastic bag and P20 per big plastic bag.
DTI price monitoring guidelines pegged eggs at P4.50 each, onions at P50, bananas at P45 a kilo and cooking oil at P20. – VS/HS, GMA News
