COTABATO CITY, Oct. 27 (PNA) – Four days before All Saints’ Day on November 1, demand for flowers here has been rising as well as its prices.
But flower vendors here and in Koronadal City have assured enough supply for the Filipino tradition of offering flowers to the tomb of their departed loved ones.
Manilyn Garce, a flower vendor beside the St. Anthony Cathedral in Koronadal City, said there are enough flowers for the tradition.
“Unlike last year when we experienced shortage due to calamities, we have enough supply of flowers this year,” she told NDBC Koronadal Tuesday.
Suppliers of flowers had been preparing for the coming of All Saints’ Day and even All Souls’ Day, she said.
Flower vendors in Koronadal City are taking stocks at the nearby Village of Saravia, Makilala in North Cotabato and Davao City.
Flowers that are more affordable and can stay up fresh longer like Chrysanthemums, Malaysian mums and Anthurium are more in demand these days, Garce said.
To cope up with the demand of their customers, flower stalls are expected to open 24 hours beginning October 30 until the night of November 1.
In Cotabato City, flowers for the dead are more expensive as the “Undas” draws near.
Celestina Gumapac, a flower vendor just outside the Immaculate Concepcion in Cotabato City, said the prices of flowers rose three to four times as compared to ordinary days.
“We buy flowers, we do not plant them so the cost of transportation is higher when we get supplies from North Cotabato or Bukidnon,” she said.
Another vendor, Sulpicia Umanday, said they have to be innovative by making beautiful bundle of assorted flowers to at least recover the expenses plus profits.
”We expect the peak of buyers by Thursday or Friday,” she said. “By then, the demand is higher and the prices too,” she admitted.
What used to be a P50 worth of three roses now costs P150 per set. A combination of three to four flowers would costs P300, she said.
Flower vendors also increase as more enterprising individuals design flowers for the dead composed of variety of expensive flowers. (PNA)