Small food vendors keep meal prices steady amid LPG price hikes

To continue delivering meals affordable for their customers, small food sellers across Metro Manila opted not to increase their prices despite the continued price increase in Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).

The increase has been sharp for Fernando Dela Cruz, a 60-year-old pares and lugaw vendor, while recalling how abruptly LPG rates increased in recent months.

“Malaki ang itinaas eh, dating P840 lang, ngayon P1,200 na,” he stated in a news story of ABS-CBN news.

To sustain his daily operations, Dela Cruz has shifted to a cheaper alternative by using charcoal.

“Mas mura ang uling,” he explained, emphasizing that this is the only means for him to dodge raising his food prices.

For many karinderyas, the hassle is less about seeking alternatives and more about conserving the gas remaining in their tanks.

As expressed by Marivic Tripoli, 52, who runs a small eatery, the price of partial LPG refills has inflated by at least P300, tightening her fuel use.

“Kailangan talagang tipirin yung gas hinaan ng konti para makatipid,” she stated.

Tripoli now cooks most of her dishes early in the day before lowering the flame to a minimum.

“Pag niluto na mamaya konti na lang iinit na parang menor lang araw-araw namin ginagawa,” she added, stating that this way will keep the dishes warm for customers.

Similarly, a 62-year-old carinderia owner in Earnshaw Street, Sampaloc, Manila, Lita Dimaguiba, forcibly switched to charcoal due to the steep increase of gas price.

“Dati ho nag-uuling lang kami para sa mga inihaw na putahe, pero ngayon miski sa mga regular items namin gaya ng menudo, giniling, tsaka mga prito, uling na din ginagamit namin,” she said in an interview via Tempo News.

She usually pays P820 to P850 for the LPG tank, but now it has drastically increased to P1,200 to P1,250.

“Akala ko nabibingi na ako eh, parang hindi matanggap ng tenga ko na ganun na kamahal gasul ngayon. Talagang lugi aabutin namin pag nag-stick kami sa pagluluto gamit gasul,” she added.

A similar routine was evident in the eateries located along Quirino Highway in Barangay Bagbag, Quezon City.

According to Karen Fayton, she shared her cooking strategies by immediately turning off the stove once the soup reaches the boiling point.

“Yung pagpapakulo po ng aming sabaw, kapag mainit na po pinapatay na po mamin,” Fayton noted.

She added that they cook in large batches to conserve fuel.

“Nagluluto na po kami nang maramihan, para pag may bumili, hindi na namin iisa-isahin, mahal po kasi ang gas,” Fayton explained.

When ovens rely on steady fuel consumption, the pressure is also felt inside the bakeries.

Marie Celo, 40, who works at a local bake shop, agrees that switching to wood-fired cooking became the most cost-efficient method, yet impossible in the urban setting.

“Sa ngayon dapat kahoy talaga siya… pero gawa ng dito sa Maynila wala namang kahoy,” Celo said.

Even electric appliances offer little help amid rising power rates.

Celo described business owners increasingly boxed in by rising operational costs.

“Kung magtataas kami, mas lalong walang bibili. Lalong walang kita,” she explained, noting that despite the strain, the bakery refused to increase bread prices.

As customers are already struggling with high living costs, keeping prices steady is the only way vendors and small business owners can retain their profits. 

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on March 31, no price increase in basic commodities will occur “until April 15,” yet it is expected to happen in mid-April.

With no signs of fuel prices easing soon, these micro-entrepreneurs brace themselves for harder days ahead as they choose, day after day, to carry the burden themselves so consumers won’t have to.