The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said flower prices are expected to increase as a seasonal product as Valentine’s Day approaches, but added that they cannot do anything about it as it is not covered by the price monitoring of the department.
In a post by the DTI consumer protection group, Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said flowers are not covered by the mandate of the department as they are not basic or prime necessities needed all year round.
“We expect na tataas ang presyo ng bulaklak kasi ‘yong mga nagbebenta nito, minsan lang din sila kumita, tulad ng Feb. 14 o tuwing Undas. Katulad ng Christmas décor na once a year lang natin kailangan. These are seasonal products na hindi na binabantayan ng DTI, unlike basic necessities or prime commodities na kailangan natin all year round,” Castelo said.
Local flower sellers like Marilyn Solon said a bundle of flowers from Manila is now sold to them for P1,500 starting in the month of February. She added that roses usually increase in price and double the price from the original P50 to P100 on the occasion of Valentine’s Day.
Solon said her supplier informed her that no imported flowers have arrived yet in Manila. Tulips, Stargazers, and Carnations are usually imported from China and India.
“Sa Manila kasi, P1,500 or P1,700 pa. Ang dumating sa akin, mga P1,500 per bundle. Ang sa regular ay P1,200 lang isang dosena, ngayon ay P1,500, pamasahe ay mahal. Isang box ay P5,000. Ngayon, walang import ngayon dahil walang dumating na galing kahit saang bansa,” Solon said.
“Kahit ‘yong supplier ko, walang dumating kaya (kumuha) na lang kami ng local. Ang imported lang ay Stargazer at Carnation lang—sa local, walang Tulips, ewan ko lang bukas kasi meron pa akong mga parating pa,” she said.
Other flowers coming from Manila include Rados and Malaysian Mums, while sunflowers are supported by supplies from Baguio. Solon said she believes that as the pandemic is now two years old, the traffic of customers is starting to normalize again.
She added that the peak days of orders start from February 12 to February 14, when the usual package available to customers amounts to P350.
“Dami na orders, nag-a-arrange na kami. Ang patong ko ay kaunti lang kasi kung (lakihan) mo rin, kawawa naman ang tao,” she said.
