Benguet cut-flower farmers say there’s enough supply for All Souls’ Day

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Farmers and producers here assured Sunday that despite damage caused by Typhoon Pepeng on the local cut-flower industry, the supply for flowers for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days would be enough to cope with increased public demand, although the higher cut-flower prices tended to weaken sales. In barangay Bahong, considered as the center of the local cut-flower industry in this part of Benguet, farmers and producers said that they had to make “reasonable price adjustments" because of lessened production due to Pepeng. In an interview, Jacinta Segundo, 59, showed nearby outdoor farms unprotected by greenhouse sheathing and explained that Pepeng destroyed at least 30 percent of the cut-flower farms in their barangay as the heavy and relentless rains destroyed the plants’ leaves and flower buds. Only greenhouse farms – estimated to be at least 70 percent of the farms in Bahong – survived and incurred less damage, Segundo explained as she gathered Malaysian mums and prepared them for pick up and shipments to buyers in Metro Manila, Cabanatuan City, and Cavite. Flowers in the greenhouses were thus harvested in time for the November 1 and 2 holidays. “Nasuportaran da iman sin greenhouses isunga nan survive da para isnan apit (They were protected by the greenhouses and were able to survive in time for the harvest)," she said in the local Benguet speech. Farmers in this rural village in Benguet’s capital town have been busy gathering their flower produce since last Wednesday up to Monday, November 2, since they still expect a sizeable number of last-minute cemetery visitors in Baguio City and nearby lowland towns to buy flowers to bring to the graves of their loved ones, added Segundo, a cut-flower farmer for the past decade. Segundo said that the various kinds of Malaysian mums, which are mostly produced during this season, are now sold from P130 to P150 per bundle, from the earlier price of P100 per bundle prior to Pepeng. Roses, which are mostly harvested in February around Valentine’s Day but not much during this season, now cost from P180 to P250 per bundle, or the equivalent of two dozen rosebuds, she added.

About 12 kilometers away from Baguio City, barangay Bahong is considered to be this town’s center of cut-flower industry which produces Malaysian mums, roses, anthuriums and other flowers sold during special seasons such as All Saints’ Day and Valentine’s Day and other special occasions when these products are in demand. The other cut-flower-producing barangays of this town, such as Ambiong and Alno, sell at the same prices for Malaysian mums and roses, vendors at the La Trinidad market said. Prices in Baguio City and in Manila are of course higher due to transport and other costs, said Aling Basilia, a flower vendor at the La Trinidad market. Slow flower sales in Baguio market Truckloads of cut flowers ultimately reach the main consumer markets in Baguio City, nearby lowland provinces and Metro Manila, including the specialized flower stalls in the Dangwa station area along Dimasalang Street. Here in Baguio City, known for its annual Panagbenga flower festival, an ocular visit to the usual flower-stall sections confirmed that there was indeed no supply problem. But observers noted a significant downturn in flower sales as compared to the same period last year. Along Harrison Road, as in past years, flower stalls have been set up since October 30 to cater to both wholesale and retail buyers, many of whom were expected to come from outside the city. Knowledgeable observers said that in past years, by All Saints' Eve on October 31, the bulk of flowers for sale along Harrison Rd. would have been already taken by wholesale buyers from as far as Metro Manila, and only a small portion left to be bought by local retail buyers on November 1 itself. This year however, by late Sunday afternoon, many flower stalls still had ample supplies. Interviewed by GMANews.TV, flower stall vendors like Virgie Bautista said that unlike last year, only a few wholesale buyers trekked to the city to buy truckloads. Bautista's regular clientele from Isabela, Pampanga and elsewhere also said they could not buy as much as before because they were affected by Typhoon Pepeng’s floods and because of uncertain road conditions. She also said that many small retail vendors who bought from local wholesalers were fazed by the high prices and could not buy as much as before. Many retail vendors noted with dismay the small turnout of buyers and the slow sales, adding that October 31 to November 2 was a long weekend and they had expected that the Baguio market would be teeming with holiday visitors and buyers. Earlier, the Cordillera office of the Department of Agriculture bared that among agricultural crops in the region, the sector of high-value commercial crops (HVCC) was the worst hit by Pepeng, with an estimated total loss of almost P323 million according to figures of the Cordillera Regional Disaster Coordinating Council. - GMANews.TV, with report from Arthur L. Allad-iw