THE price of mangoes at Bankerohan Public Market in Davao City has dropped to P60 to P80 per kilogram (kg), which is around 30 percent to 50 percent lower than last month's P120 per kg.
In a price monitoring conducted by SunStar Davao Sunday, June 16, 2019, fruit vendor Merlyn Bantugan said the price of mango has always been fluctuating but this week is at its lowest price due to oversupply.
"Nibaba gyud ang presyo sa mangga karon. Ingon among supplier na daghan daw ang harvest. Usually, ingon ana man gyud (The price of mangoes went down today. Our supplier told us that they have more harvest and it is usually like that)," Bantugan said.
"Kung daghan gani ang harvest, barato, kung gamay ra or kulang ang supply, mumahal gyud ang tag-iya sa farm mao to siguro niabot pa og P120 last time (If there are more mangoes harvested, the price is lower. But if there will be lack of supply, it is usually higher and maybe that is why it went up to P120 last time)," she added.
Fruit vendor Jolly Ann Quiñones said they got their supply in bulk from Digos City.
“Komportable ang mga mamalitay sa presyo namo karon. Makahalin mi og lima kabukag pud sa is aka adlaw (Our customers are comfortable with our price now. We can sell at least five baskets a day),” she said.
Department of Agriculture (DA)-Davao Region director Ricardo Oñate in a phone interview Sunday, confirmed that there is an oversupply of mangoes in the region this season.
He said that while it is good for customers, there is a possibility for mango supply to be put to waste if not sold in the market.
“Actually karon ang pinakadaghan na supply sa manga. Nangita pud mi og laing way for value-adding like processed products pareha anang dried mangoes (We actually have the highest supply now. We are making ways to look for value-adding activities like dried mangoes and other processed products),” he said.