As demand for school supplies grows: Prices soaring

CEBU, Philippines — With almost all academic institutions now opening back their gates for students to welcome the new school year, comes also the increase in prices of some educational supplies, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has noted.

DTI Chief of the Consumer Protection Division Ynes Cajegas, in an interview, yesterday said they started monitoring the prices of educational supplies after the release of the “Gabay sa Pamimili ng School Supplies" last July 25, which became their basis in the conduct of monitoring.

“Namatud-an nato nga there are really changes. Naay kabaghuan sa presyo. Naay ni increase gamay,” said Cajegas.

Cajegas said two of the 10 shelf-keeping units (SKU) in notebooks have an increase of P3 to P7. SKUs have the specific brand, design and other specification. For pad papers, some of them have increased by P2.75 to P11 while some crayons have increased by P2.73 to P12, depending on the brand and quantity.

Rulers have a 75-centavo increase while pencils and ballpens have no increase noted from last year’s prices.

“Amo ning gisusi unsay kasagarang rason nganong nag increase. No.1 (is) imported mostly ang school supplies – logistic cost and materials itself. Maayo na lang with the Gabay, it gives idea sa retailers naay ahensya nag tutok nato,” Cajegas said.

The increase, however, is said to be justifiable.

Cajegas added before any price increase, suppliers need to present documentary proofs for increasing prices.

So far though, malls and other stores monitored in Cebu are compliant and DTI warned anyone who is taking advantage.

“Ang DTI dili gyud magmakuli to impose the necessary penalty to those dili mo-comply sa atong Gabay… If wala sa Gabay, it doesn’t mean na maka-eskapo namo sa penalties,” said Cajegas.

Consumer behavior

With the price increase of school supplies, which are on top of the increase of rice and other commodities, consumers have now become conscious with prices, while they consider quality as secondary only.

Usually, buyers now just buy what is required by the schools and no longer by bulk.

“Preferred sa mga mamalitay–cost, secondary ang quality. Practical na. Naay mga brand wala sa Gabay, pero naay alternative na barato. Siguro volume ang pagpalit sa mga suppliers. Buying habits sa atong mga konsumidor, lahi na gyud ron. Instead of buying by bulk, kung unsa na lay i-specify sa lista, menudo ug palit,” added Cajegas.

Howver, Cajegas also cautioned buyers to check on the materials used if it is not hazardous to the school children’s health and if it is of good quality.

For crayons, it should be non-toxic, and FDA approved.

Cajegas also told consumers to buy only in reliable stores and only buy in sari-sari stores for one item, as the prices there may be slightly higher.

“Teach children to be masinop, magdaginot kay lisod na kaayo ang panahon karon. Kung mag drawing-drawing, kato lang scratch paper. Also, recycling sa katong pwede pang magamit na notebooks ug uban pa,” Cajegas stressed. –/GAN (FREEMAN)