The price of tomatoes in General Santos City has gone up due to the limited supply from areas affected by floods.

According to some vendors at a public market in Barangay Bula, the lack of supply has been going on for around two weeks.

From P60 per kilo in the previous weeks, the price of tomatoes went up to P90 per kilo.

Because of the high price, some consumers have declined to buy tomatoes.

“Tapos ang mamalitay usahay misibat kay mahal pero wala tay mahimo kay mao ang presyo,” vendor, Jenelyn Lara, said.

Retailers will also likely to increase the price further.

“Ang akua man gud, ginabaligya nako, gina-retail nako… magdugang pud ko presyo,” Reymond Caparedo, a retailer, said.

The management of the market said the increasing demand for tomatoes is due to the effects of the bad weather experienced in the country.

“Nag-start na siya katung bagyo sa Manila, bagyong Kristine… automatic yung mga primary like kamatis, mga highland crops natin, nagtaas… halos lahat kasi nga mataas ang demand sa Luzon kaya dito sa atin, nagkulang tayo ng supply,” Bula Public Market Manager, Abigail Avilo, said.

The management of the market assured that it will continue to monitor vendors to ensure they will not sell the tomatoes at unreasonable prices.