SOME vendors near cemeteries in Davao City had increased the prices of their flowers due to high demand and low supply.
With the surge of demand for flowers in commemoration of Undas, also known as All Saints' Day and All Souls’ Day, vendors had increased their prices by up to P10 to P20 per pot or per bundle.
A pot of roses regardless of color is priced from P25 to P100 depending on the size and the number of flowers, a pot of chrysanthemum jemba is priced at P20 to P100, anthurium pots are pegged at P35 to P100, and lilies are priced at P40 to P120 per pot.
Some also sell flowers ranging from different kinds of roses and anthuriums at P5 to P15 a piece.
Vendors interviewed by SunStar Davao said that the increasing yet sudden demand led to slight rise in prices.
However, not all vendors increase flower prices.
“Di na sya mataas inig Undas, depende, taas man sad ang komprada, pero kay kami man ang first makakuha sa supply, wala na mi patong ana (Prices will not be higher during Undas, as it depends on the market, however for us, since we are the first to acquire the supplies, we do not add charges),” Melicia Padilla, a flower vendor near Tibungco Public Cemetery, told SunStar Davao.
Meanwhile, another vendor Lorna Laurente said they observe flowers are more of a commodity today, so they need to increase prices as they have limited supply available.
“Mahal ang bulak, mahal ang materials, sponge… need namo motaas (Materials needed to make bundles of flowers in pots are expensive so we need to increase prices),” Laurente said.
Undas, a significant religious observance in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, is a time when families pay respects to their departed loved ones by visiting cemeteries, offering prayers, and offering graves with flowers. ICE