Dangwa sellers expect higher prices of flowers as Valentine's day nears.

by Yllonah Marie Bago and Carl Daniel Reyes

The prices of flowers and other themed merchandise, in Dangwa flower market in Sampaloc, Manila, are expected to increase as Valentine’s Day nears. With February 14 falling on a school day, sales are expected to increase as well.

Indian roses rose at PhP1,500 per 12 pieces from the previous PhP1,000 and red roses at PhP 600-PhP 700 per dozen from the previous PhP300. Meanwhile, dried flowers are also available at PhP 700 to PhP 750, depending on the type and arrangement.

In a report by Ralph Obina on Super Radyo DZBB on Feb. 13, two dozen roses from Baguio City are currently going for more than PhP 1,000, up from the previous price tag of PhP 700, due to an increase in fertilizer prices as well as the prevailing cold weather.

Still, as the week of Feb. 14 comes along, people flocked to Dangwa flower market due to its countless varieties of flowers and cheap prices offered by the vendors.

Joshua, a 17-year-old student from the Far Eastern University, is a first-time Dangwa customer, who went a day before Valentine’s day to buy arranged flowers.

“Yes yung arranged na. Syempre minsan lang naman yoong malaki na,” he said.

A few other students from University of Santo Tomas (UST), De La Salle (DLSU), and Far Eastern University (FEU), among others, were seen walking back and forth, canvassing prices and shopping for reselling and personal purposes.

Aside from flower bouquets, balloons, and balloon bouquets are also popular options that choose instead of flowers or as an add-on to their flower packages.

“Mabili sa 14. Bale sa 14 marami talaga, dagsaan pa yan hanggang madaling araw. Ngayon matumal pa kasi umaga,” said Raquel, a 40-year-old balloon vendor. She has been selling balloons every Valentine's day for years.

Along with her 10-year-old daughter, they sell balloons and other Valentine's day gift items ranging from PhP 60 to PhP 150.

Options

Buyers usually prefer fresh flowers or bouquets. But this year, dried flowers were another option for people.

According to Iza, a 35-year-old vendor from Iloilo, dried flowers cost PhP 500 and a bouquet of these flowers can be priced as high as PhP 1,000.

She said that people now prefer dried flowers because they last longer than fresh flowers and these kinds of arrangements are also preferred by people who still travel to provinces.

“May nag f-fresh [flowers] pa rin naman, yung may mga budget. Mas mura ‘yong dried,” she said.

Local dried flowers usually come from Quirino Province while imported ones come from China.

Arrangement

For people who still prefer fresh flowers, buyers can choose to buy an arranged bouquet or commission a person to arrange their preferred design for the bouquets.

Henry, an arranger in Manila Flower Center located at the corner of Laon Laan and Dos Castillas Streets, said prices for commission on arrangements differ per laborer.

He stated that if flowers from the arranged bouquet came from them, they will give it at PhP 500. If the flowers came from the buyer, they will cost a more expensive rate.

“Mas mura pag samin, 500. Mahal pa kapag sa kanila pa,” the 30-year-old arranger said.

There were also other arrangers who are under contract for Valentine's Day like Michael, a 29-year-old flower arranger.

According to him, his contract is up until Feb. 14 and accepts as many bouquet arrangements as he can during the 24-hour flock of buyers.

Onion bouquet

Since prices of onions underwent significant increase, especially in the previous month, a new fad has emerged for Valentine's Day: vendors are now selling bouquets of onions.

In lieu of the traditional flower bouquets that are in demand for Valentine’s Day, Dangwa shops diversified customer's options by adding "onion bouquets" to their array of valentines merchandise, the vegetable that retailed for as much as PhP 600 per kilo last year.

Geland Cruz, a vendor, said that the reason why they choose to make an onion bouquet is because of its price hike and flowers also decompose quickly.

“Hindi ba ang bulaklak pagkatapos ng Valentine’s, madidispose na siya. Yoong sibuyas magagamit mo pa siya, tapos tulad niyan mahal yoong sibuyas natin kaya naisipan namin gumawa ng ganyan,” the 22-year-old Cruz said.

The prices of onion bouquets from Feb. 13 to 15 rose to PhP 550 and went down to PhP 400 the following day.

Aside from onions, the bouquet also includes real chili, ginger, salted egg, and tomatoes.

Recently, the Philippine inflation skyrocketed to 8.7 percent the previous month, the highest recorded inflation in 14 years.

Family business

Selling flowers of different varieties and arrangements has been a family business for some.

Shalom, a 22-year-old young adult, said that their flower shop located near the Dangwa Bus Terminal on Dimasalang St. has been their business for five years.

“Opo, sa tita ko po. Nakikibantay kasi kailangan nya ng kasama eh,” she said.

The whole family is helping in the production of bouquets. For instance, her brother, Oliver, is assigned to be the arranger of bouquets while she is tasked to cover the arrangement with flower wrappers or cellophane.

At the time of writing, flowers coming from Baguio are quite expensive, with a small bouquet costing PhP 550 and PhP 950 for a large one.

Based on Shalom’s observation, their customers are usually those who drive cars that stop in front of their stall on Dimasalang St.

People are, once again, expected to flock to the Dangwa flower market on the days before All Souls Day in November.