Soft drinks shortage hurts small vendors, says DTI

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 4 Oct) – The supply shortage of soft drinks have deeply hurt small sari-sari stores who are dependent on these fast-selling products for their profits.

_{At the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental. MindaNews file photo by FROILAN GALLARDO}

Almer Masillones, Misamis Oriental provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry, said the shortage hurts the small entrepreneurs more than the bigger groceries and fast-food outlets.

“Sari-sari store owners are already complaining about the shortage and wondering where they can get their supplies,” she said.

Masillones said the situation has worried government regulators because the sale of soft drinks is essential to small sari-sari storeowners.

The scarcity of soft drinks came after the Philippines’ projected sugar production of 2.03 million metric tons fell short by 200,000 tons.

Major beverage companies Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and ARC Refreshments Corporations confirmed the shortage of premium refined sugar, a “key ingredient” in their products.

Coca-Cola Philippines was forced to suspend operations in some of their key manufacturing plants in the country because of the shortage of sugar.

Lawyer Ruth Sybil Salvador, DTI mediation officer, said this situation leads to the hoarding of soft drinks, especially the popular Coca-Cola.

Salvador said her desk already received two complaints from sari-sari store owners of bodegas and warehouses hoarding soft drinks.

Reporters who attended the press conference called by DTI Misamis Oriental on Monday appraised the trade regulators that soft drinks now sell more than 100 percent compared to prices in July.

“A small bottle of soft drinks is more expensive than the price of a liter of gasoline or diesel,” IFM radio reporter Menzie Montes told the DTI officials. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)