How inflation is hurting small vendors

By JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondent .

FRUIT vendor Dexter Anay is uncertain about the future of his small business in Divisoria because of the increasing prices of nearly everything amd the weakening of the peso.

He has noted a sharp decrease in his sales this year and unless the situation improves, Anay said he might be forced to close shop a few months from now, saying he has been finding it difficult to compete with the bigger fruit dealers.

The vendor said his supply of fruits mainly come from neighboring Bukidnon. The prices of the fruits were significantly increased, leaving him with little room for profit.

His only option is to also significantly increase the fruit prices but he said he is aware that this would mean lesser sales.

“Ang problema na pud dayon kay gamay nalang mamalit, ug unsay mahitabo? Mangadunot akong mga baligya magansi kog samot. Lisud gyud,” Anay said.

A cigarette vendor, Darwin Aguilar, said he used to sell at least three packs a day. With today’s prohibitive prices of cigarette, plus the stricter rules on smoking, he said he was planning on ditching cigarettes and focus on selling nothing but candies.

Aguilar said he could hardly sell a pack of cigarettes in a day’s work.

“Maayo na lang akong giabayan og candy kay makatabang-tabang ra kay medyo man kusog ang candy. Pero lisud gyud gihapon ko,” he said.

Councilor Jay Pascual said he feared the the crime rate would increase as a result of the inflation.

“The worst case scenario is the crime rate would go up unless we do something about the problem. It’s because no matter how good a person is, if his family is already starving, he would do anything for the survival of his loved ones,” Pacual said.

He proposed stricter price monitorings in the city to prevent unrestrained increases in the prices of basic commodities, especially food.