Prices of ingredients of Lenten staples rise

CEBU, Philippines -  Vendors are seeing a sharp increase in sales and demand for ingredients of "binignit" and "biko" as the two are the sought-after foods this Holy Week.

On the other hand, shoppers are also faced by the increased prices of these basic ingredients due to the strong local demand.

However, The FREEMAN has seen at the Carbon Market yesterday a rise in foot traffic to these products, which retailers say is always expected during Holy Week.

While some consumers expressed frustration on the rise, others said the recent increase has left them with no choice.

The rise in commodity prices can be attributed to the seasonality of  high demand not just from buyers but also from retailers and wholesalers of "binignit" ingredients and, vendors said.

Vendors also blamed the price increase on the scarcity of some of their products and the rise of vendors wanting to take the gains on selling "binignit" ingredients.

For instance, 36-year-old vendor Lala Romero temporarily stopped from doing her usual business in the market: "painit" (offering coffee, noodles, cocoa, etc.) and selling togue or bean sprout.

Knowing that it is lucrative enterprise this week, Romero joined other vendors in selling these in demand foodstuff.

"Mas modaghan gyod ang mamaligya basta Semana Santa," she shared. "Daghan man ang magpahimus sa chance nga daghan ang buyers."

They said the cost of every ingredient has increased by P10 - P20 as markup cost and this rise is expected to prevail the whole week until Black Saturday.

Prices of these goods were still normal and low during the past weeks, retailers revealed.

The following are the prevailing prices of binignit and biko ingredients at the market: from the previous P20, a kilo of camote now sells at P30; a kilo of gabiis at P100 from P50 before; landang puti and landang puwa are now sold at P30 and P25, respectively; a kilo of ube now stands at P100; and sago remains at P5 per pack.

"Sa niaging semana pa lang, nisugod na og dagsa ang mamalitay og binignit ug biko," said Maureen Jaducana, a 33-year-old vendor at the market. "Labaw na karong semanaha among baligya maoy hapiton sa mga tawo."

At the early onset of the Holy Week, Jaducana was able to initially earn P12, 000, generating gains on retail sales and this is larger than she expected.

Sellers are also expecting the peak buying days on Holy Wednesday and Holy Thursday, prior to the fast and abstinence on Good Friday. Vendors cater to customers round-the-clock. (FREEMAN)