Palengke vs. supermarket: Consumers hunt for affordable noche buena items

Filipino households hit by the COVID-19 pandemic will not let Christmas pass without putting traditional food on the table for noche buena.  But being on a tight budget, they go to the wet market or palengke and the supermarkets to scour for the cheaper items.

Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Incorporated head Steven Cua said some items are cheaper by five percent in supermarkets than the wet market, according to a report by Bernadette Reyes on "24 Oras."

For example, he said a 250g tomato sauce costs P19.70 in supermarkets and P25 in wet markets while a 250g spaghetti sauce that costs P26 in supermarkets, costs P39 in wet markets. A 165g cheese also costs P49 in supermarkets and cost P52 in palengkes.

However, market sellers said that not all items are cheaper in groceries.

“Dito kasi tinatakal na, puwede na sila magtingi kung kaunti lang ‘yung gagawin nila. Pag maramihan, okay lang naman siya kasi mas iba pa rin ‘yung presyo. Ang iba kasi gusto nila branded, ganon,” Irene Florence De Mesa, a seller, said.

“Dito okay na ‘yung iba kasi affordable na ‘yung pera nila. Ayun na ‘yung kaya nilang bilhin,” she added.

Cua said supermarkets have a sale section where bundled products may be bought ata lower price.

“Go to the sale section, there are always good bundling, especially this year kasi nga lahat naghahabol ng quota so syempre ang mga distributors naghahabol ng quota, eh maraming iba bundle,” Cua said.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is coordinating with manufacturers to ensure that prices of noche buena items will not increase until the end of the year.

“’Yun ang magandang balita. Talaga hong same 2019 prices po sila as 2020. At least maganda ‘yung Kapaskuhan, ‘yung Noche Buena products ay mame-maintain,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said.—Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News