By Rommel Quilantang
• Shoppers ask for transparency in pricing
Ormoc City – Since December 2009, prices of basic commodities particularly pork, beef, and carabeef have increased by an average of P10.00 per kilo at the city’s wet market.
Shoppers, on the other hand, have complained about the lack of transparency of prices at the wet market here, in contradiction to issuances that mandate a daily price monitoring blackboard be put up to guide them.
Meanwhile, prices of other commodities have also gone up.
Sugar, a main produce of Ormoc, is sweet to the planters at its current prices but bitter to consumers at P51.20 per kilo (white) and P39.30 (brown). A scion of a known sugar planter has blogged in his Facebook account that current prices could help them pay off all their debts. This level of sugar pricing, however, is also expected to push up the prices of other commodities of which it is a main ingredient like cakes, pastries, soft drinks, etc. At the Gaisano Shopping Mall, frequent shoppers noted that shelves were virtually empty or lacked stocks, this week.
This, they know, indicated a massive re-pricing. When the goods are displayed, they would surely sport new prices, presumably higher prices than before.
In these days of ballooning prices and a shrinking peso, shoppers have learned to take this in a stride.
At the pricey Monterey Meatshop (Gaisano Mall) lean pork currently sells for P245.00, but soup bones are only half the price, at P120.00 per kilo. Lean beef (imported) is at P400.00 per kilo.
Poultry meat prices, meanwhile, range from P140.00 per kilo to P190.00, depending on the cut. The ever reliable “sardinas” sells at an average of P13.00 per can, compared to the P9.50 to P11.00 prices it sold for last year.
At the wet market, based on the Weekly Price Monitoring of the City Agricultural Services Office (CASO), the price of lean pork last December 8, 2009 was only P160.00 per kilo. This was so until the end of the month. This week, however, it increased to P170.00.
The same price trends showed for beef and carabeef. Last December, lean carabeef sold for P190.00 per kilo. Now, the CASO price monitoring pegged it at P200.00 per kilo.
Lean beef, however, remains at P240.00 in December and also P240 this week.
Soup bones or “lat-anon” for carabeef previously sold at P140 per kilogram. Now, it is at P150.00; beef soup bones at P 150, now it is P160.00 – showing an evident P10 spike on meat prices per kilogram.
Asked for the reason why, Grace Tubio, a meat vendor said “Nimahal man gud ang buh-i mao nang amo giumintohan ang presyo.” (The price of the livestock has increased, so we made a price adjustment). They added that except for this, there had been no other extraordinary increases in their cost of doing business like their stall rental, which has remained the same.
Other meat vendors echoed the same reason and pointed out that the meat distributors or commonly called in the market as “matanseros” or “rangers” have increased the price of the pork and beef that they offer to the meat retailers or vendors.
On the other hand, the “matanseros”, when interviewed, said there are two main reasons for the price increase.
First, the number of breeders and suppliers of meat have reduced since October 2009, eventually causing the shortage of supply of meat here in the province of Leyte. They pointed out this is also happening in some parts of the country. After the increased demand for meat last December, there is a lack of supply currently.
Second, due to increasing expenses in growing livestock especially feeds, breeders and suppliers are demanding higher price for their livestock.
Last December, matanseros claim that they were still able to purchase meat at a gate price of P105 per kilogram. Now, they have to buy it at the price of P115 per kilogram, accounting for the P10.00 difference.
The claim of the matanseros, however, were debunked by feeds retailers in the city who said that the prices of feeds remained constant since December, and that there had been no significant mark up on the prices of BMEG, BMIX, ULTIMA and other brands of livestock feeds.
As of this moment, there has been no report of any regulatory intervention or control that any Local Government Units have done in response to the current price increases. Ms. Judith Paredes, OIC of Support Services and Coordination Division at the CASO assures that they are vigilant in constantly monitoring the prices of meat in the market and said they would report any possible pricing of goods exceeding their ceiling price. She added that they received no report of profiteering or overpricing in Ormoc City so far with regards to meat pricing. With a report from Jean Mayingque and LMJ
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