'It's not like we’re going to lower our rice prices when our suppliers' prices are high,' a vendor at Cebu's Carbon Market points out
vendors and owners of eateries in Cebu bore the brunt of the challenges that rice retailers faced.-making business in Barangay Pasil, Cebu City, in 2022 but is already finding it very hard to make ends meet due to the price of rice in the market.at P5 per piece, but over time, as rice prices started increasing, he began to consider gradually increasing the price by one peso at a time.
Cabaron said he has no choice but to purchase the expensive rice, “sacrificing” his budget in the process, as the quality of the cheaper rice that he would often find in markets is poor. Much like him, Mariloy Llano, an eatery owner, is unable to increase the price of the rice they serve or reduce the size of the serving due to the fear of losing customers.Llano said they would simply endure the situation and wait for the situation to improve.Many vendors in Cebu’s markets are still hoping for this promise to be fulfilled but are now relying on government initiatives to help them.from the 2023 budget to aid rice retailers affected by the price ceiling.
On February 28, people lined up to buy NFA rice sold at P25 per kilo at the Cebu Provincial Capitol grounds during the last day of the Kadiwa ng Pangulo Diskwento Caravan. Consumers were only allowed to buy up to five kilograms of rice each.