Demand for fish, veggies up: Lent Season spells lean days for meat

CEBU, Philippines - Apart from the impact of the onset of the Lenten Season on the consumption of meat, the scarce supply and high prices of meat products have also encouraged consumers to opt instead for seafoods, according to meat vendors at the Carbon Market.

Fish vendors said that due to ample supply, prices of seafood products are low – at least for now – a reason why most people are choosing fish not only because they need to abstain from eating meat but also because seafood products are now easier on the pocket.

“Mabantayan na namo pirme nga mohinay ang palit sa baboy basta kuwaresma,” 35-year-old meat vendor Girlie Arreglado said. “Unya siyempre mas pilion man sab gyod sa tawo ang barato sama sa isda.” (It is already expected for sales of meat to decline during the Lenten season and also more people would go for fish since it’s more affordable these days.)

However, meat traders said they still have buyers even during Lent because they have regular customers who are restaurant proprietors. But then again, due to the Lenten Season, their regular buyers would also decrease their orders noting that most of their consumers would normally demand for fish or vegetables.

For one, 40-year-old eatery owner Welma Herodiaz proved this observation saying, “Basta sugod na sa Lenten (season) mas gamay gyod ang karne nga among lutu-on. Hinuon naa man gihapoy mangita. Pero mas pangita-on sa mga tawo ang isda.”

As the law of supply and demand determines the prices of products in the market, the third basic law applies. Prices of seafood products remain low because while there is high demand from the market, there is also an abundant supply of seafood products.

Having been a fish vendor for 15 years now, Celis Tugbong, 50, observed that the period following the Ash Wednesday which marks the start of “Kuwaresma” is the top selling season for seafood products.

Tulingan fish, a favorite and in-demand among the public, can even be bought at P50 per kilo. Budboron and Tamarong can be sold at P80-P110 per kilo.

 But they also said prices of Lapu-Lapu, Pugapo and Mulmol which belong to the category of “Isda sa Bato” are always constant. The prices of these fishes are pegged at P200-P300 a kilo.

On the other hand, abundant supply is also the reason of the fairly low prices of vegetables, said vendors in the Carbon Market. Though the demand now is still normal, vendors foresee sales of vegetables to go up as the Holy Week nears.

“Common na gyod ning mosaka ang demand sa utanon panahon sa Holy Week maong malipay sab mi kay dako-dako sab among mahalin,” vendor Rafael Limbaga, 57, smiled though adding that supply of vegetables may be scarce come April and May as the hot season affects the plant production. (Demand for vegetables would usually go up as the Holy Week approaches and we are happy about it because we earn more during the season.)

Vegetable vendors, however, are more wary about the upcoming vacation season wherein demand for vegetables from restaurants near schools and offices will definitely decline. (FREEMAN)