Baking goods sales spike during lockdown

BAKING goods sales are up in supermarkets during the enhanced community quarantine, as a spike in demand in certain goods signals possible price increases while supplies are still beginning to improve.

Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association (Pagasa) President Steven T. Cua said in a phone interview on Friday that there has been some improvement in overall goods supplies in Metro Manila supermarkets after the movement at checkpoints eased, while supplies in Cavite and Palawan are still down.

He said baking and cooking goods demand has increased, including baking powder and hotcake mix.

“Hotcakes are selling like hotcakes — two boxes, three boxes, agawan ang tao (buyers compete),” he said.

Mr. Cua said that the increased demand in certain goods explains an increase in prices at supermarkets.

“Tumataas ang demand, mababa ang supply (demand is increasing, supplies are down)…We now have to source outside our regular source of supplies.”

The price freeze on essential goods ended on May 15, returning price regulations to the trade department’s suggested retail prices released in September.

“It’s very difficult to monitor prices right now. We show them how we got (the goods) and how much we got it at… all they could of course do is convince us, plead with us to retain prices at which we had them before,” he said.

“Of course, these are dating prices naman na galing sa supplier namin. We don’t increase prices naman; hindi kailangan. Tumaas naman benta. (Of course these are the old prices coming from our suppliers. We don’t increase prices. It’s not needed. Sales have gone up.) But ‘yung other items that we had to go out of our way to get for customers, there’s a lot of extra effort in that and we have to add people for that,” he added.

Mr. Cua said that among non-food products, demand for alcohol, disinfectants, and hair trimmers are up.

He said the increase in online grocery demand has not significantly affected their brick-and-mortar sales, as most e-commerce buyers are a small number of wealthier customers who are willing to pay delivery fees.

Pagasa is now considering its future in the “new normal” as lockdown restrictions ease. Mr. Cua said that their members now have different plans given varying rules in different local governments.

“We don’t have a common plan. Kasi kanya-kanyang (each are dealing with their own) situation din…Maraming (there are plenty of) constraints…Just handling those constraints takes the time away from you to plan ahead. You’re just dealing with the day-to-day issues that you have to contend with.” — Jenina P. Ibañez