FLOWER prices at the Bankerohan Public Market surged in time for the observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, which typically starts as early as Oct. 31.
During the price monitoring by TIMES, consumers buy bouquets of flowers from P500 to P4,000, depending on the variety and arrangement.
Meanwhile, orchids’ price remains stable and can be bought at P500 per bundle (10 pieces). A dozen roses, on the other hand, can be purchased at P250-P300 compared to the previous week’s price of between P200 and P250.
A small bouquet, which was a bestseller for people who wanted to offer flowers for their departed loved ones, was sold at an average of P100. Last week, the same product–a mix of chrysanthemum, anthurium, and baby’s breath–was only P50.
A vendor, Linda (who asked not to divulge her last name) said they jacked up their prices due to the demand. But they always tried to accommodate buyers who wanted to haggle.
Of course, people had no choice but to dig into their pockets, like “Flor” who told TIMES that she did not want to visit the grave of her loved ones empty-handed.
Rice and food
Apart from flowers, TIMES also monitored a slight increase in the prices of native delicacies, ingredients, and rice varieties.
For Malagkit, the local rice is sold at P60/kg while the Bukidnon variety can be bought at P65/kg Last week, it was sold at P55/kg and P60/kg, respectively. Meanwhile, Tapol (purple Malagkit rice) was sold at P100-P110 per kilo.
Brown sugar can be bought at P70-P75 per kilo while white sugar was sold at P90/kg. Moscuvado, meanwhile, was sold at P100-P120 per kilo.
For binignit ingredients, landang was sold at P60-P65 per kilo and grated coconut was at P40/kg. Meanwhile, white and colored sago (tapioca pearls) increased by P30 from P100 per kilo last week.
Senator Mark Villar, chairman of the senate committee on trade, commerce, and entrepreneurship, previously urged the public to be vigilant on the prices set by vendors and told them to report cases of overpricing.“Apart from a safe and orderly celebration of Undas, it is likewise important that we monitor the prices of these in-demand products. Mahalaga po na as we pay respect to our departed loved ones, tayo rin po ay maging mapanuri sa mga bilihin na ating gagamitin sa paggunita sa kanila,” Villar said in a press release from the Senate of the Philippines website.
