LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Some local farmers who are selling along the strawberry farm and swamp area claim to be having low sales despite the high supply of strawberries this month.
“Nag-uumapaw ang strawberries, peak season talaga. Maraming supply, konti lang yung demand so bumagsak siya ng mababang presyo (Strawberries are overflowing, it’s really peak season. The supply is high but the demand is low, so the price dropped significantly),” said Lany Cayat, a strawberry farmer and supplier.
She added that despite the ongoing festivities, they cannot feel the contribution of the strawberry festival to them in that area.
“To be honest, walang impact ang strawberry festival sa tourism ng strawberry farm natin. Maybe kulang tayo sa advertisement. Siguro rin kasi narrow road tayo eh. So kung traffic, aatrasan na ng mga bisita (To be honest, the strawberry festival didn’t have much impact on the tourism of our strawberry farm. Maybe we lack advertising. Also, our road is narrow. So if there’s traffic, visitors might turn back).”
“Matumal ang benta, kaunti lang ang bumibili. Kung kailan mura saka naman hindi mabenta (Sales are slow, only a few people are buying. It’s ironic that when the price is low, it doesn’t sell well),” said Gina Sagucio, another farmer and strawberry product vendor.
Meanwhile, Nida Organo, the municipal agriculturist said that it should not be concerning because the Strawberry Festival is only temporary, and after the month-long celebration, customers will go back to buying from them directly.
“Oo siguro naatract sila (mga turista) kasi maraming different products na nakadisplay dito sa municipal park at mas accessible kaya dito na sila bumibili (Maybe the tourists are attracted by the different products displayed here at the municipal park and it is more accessible that’s why they choose to buy here).”
The municipal park is located along the highway while the strawberry farm can be found in the swamp area, which is slightly far from the main road.
“Hindi naman sila masyadong affected kasi this is just temporary and most of the months of the year, sila yung source (They are not affected that much because this is just temporary and during most of the months of the year, they are the source),” Organo explained. By Blessah Joy Manuel
