Saturday, April 05, 2008 Restaurants restive over price hike By Mark D. Francisco
HIGH-end restaurants in the city are feeling the brunt of the price hike of basic commodities commonly used as ingredients in their menus.
According to Cagayan de Oro Hotel and Restaurant Association (Cohara) vice president for hotels Eileen San Juan, the group will soon converge among themselves to discuss the economic impact of the price hike in the local restaurateur industry.
San Juan, also manager of the VIP Group, pointed out though that the situation is not yet that alarming as there are no Cohara members yet who have come out into the open and complain of missed income targets.
Yet she added that the VIP Group is keeping its options open to cushion any economic impact in the price hike.
"We may not necessarily increase the prices of our items but we may change the menu. We won't compromise the quality of course," San Juan said.
"We are also taking into account the possibility that the number of our guests and clients will go low if we increase the prices of the items in our establishments," she added.
The VIP Group manages and operates VIP Hotel, Lamar Inn, and Best Bake.
Not all similar establishments agree.
As early as January, Pearlmont Hotel has increased the prices of their items.
"Amo na gi-change amo menu daan adtong January pa with the corresponding prices," remarked Pearlmont Hotel kitchen supervisor Cherry Zapico, pointing out that prices of food supplies have gone up as early as December.
Rice used to cost P20.60 per kilo and now, they have to buy it at P32 per kilo.
Shrimps which used to cost P210 per kilo have now gone up to P280 per kilo; prawns from P350 per kilo to P450 per kilo; and beef from P180 per kilo to P240 per kilo.
Italian restaurant La Tegola has also decided to increase the prices of its items on the menu last March.
"But the price increase is very minimal only at P5 per item only and our customers cannot really feel the impact of that because we cater mostly to the upper middle class sector," La Tegola operations in-charge Cyra Salazar said.
Salazar added they needed however to increase the prices of their food items to offset the price increase of softdrinks imposed by their direct suppliers.
According to Salazar, Coca-cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. has increased the price of each soda case from P396 to P420 while Pepsi products have increased in price from P5 to P7 per can.
"Because we haven't increased the prices of our soda drinks, didto namo gipatong sa mga food items," she said.
It's not only bulk soda drinks, which have increased in price.
Even the prices of bulk flour, cheese, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and rice has gone up.
"Whereas rice used to cost P1,200 per sack before, our supplier has informed us that rice may cost as high as P1,800 by July," Salazar said.
The situation at nearby Chinese restaurant Red Moon is no different.
"Prices of tofu have gone up from P5 per cube to P5.50 per cube," Red Moon operations in-charge Michelle Palacio whined.
But Palacio added that the corporate owners of Red Moon Restaurant are still to discuss on whether to increase the prices of their items or to change into less expensive menus altogether.
