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Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Sidewalk vendors losing out to malls?
WHILE malls are teeming with shoppers, the streets that used to teem with last-minute buyers as well, are no longer bringing in the crowd as like before.
"Last year, sale of all kinds of fruits was brisk. This year, our sales for all kinds are slow," Allan Verdan, a fruit vendor outside the San Pedro Cathedral said.
Verdan claimed having earned as much as P8,000 in just half a day during last year's Christmas season. This year, he could barely make P1,000 in one day.
What he observed was that while last year people were buying by dozen. This year, buyers would only get one or two pieces. They could not blame the buyers because the prices of their fruits have already increased.
Last year, Verdan said, a box of apple costs only P870. Now it is P950. A box of ponkan previously cost P380 and now its P450; and a box of seedless grapes cost P1,000 last year and now costs P1,380 this year.
As a result, they have also increased their retail prices.
"I just wish the people will buy from us because in the sidewalk you can haggle for the prices. You can't do that in the malls," Verdan said.
Julie Cribello, a fruit vendor along Bolton Street agrees with Verdan's observations.
"It's quiet now, not like last year," Cribello said.
Both Verdan and Cribello believed that the prices of the fruits they are selling would further increase right before New Year, when people would be rushing out to buy round fruits for prosperity.
In contrary, Floricel Padillo, a fruit vendor along San Pedro Street, does not believe so.
"Prices might even drop afternoon of December 31 because very few are buying from us now, much less if we increase our prices," Padillo said.
Medium size apple costs P10 while bigger ones costs P15. Ponkan also costs P10 each while pomelo costs P35 per kilo.
Padillo said she earns between P50-100 a day. Her biggest earnings was on December 24 when she took home P1,000. But, she said, she still has not recovered her capital for the month.
Times are definitely difficult, as everyone is saying. But as usual, it's the people on the streets who have to eke out a living who feels the crunch first. (BRQ)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (December 27, 2005 issue)
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