Food supply stable; bottled water brand reports reduced production capacity
A RETAIL player in Cebu City has assured the public of enough food supply amid the onslaught of Typhoon Odette (Rai) in some parts of Cebu.
“Supply has been enough because it’s preparation for Christmas season—highest level of stocking of the year. All warehouses are stock ready for Christmas up to New Year,” said retailer Robert Go of Prince Warehouse chain.
Meanwhile, bottled water brand Nature’s Spring Water told the Department of Trade and Industry 7 that it has already requested its Ormoc plant to augment Cebu’s supply needs following the reduced production capacity of its main plant in Cebu.
Nature’s Spring national marketing manager Michael Embestro said the production capacity of the Cebu plant has been reduced to 50-60 percent since they are only using two productions lines out of five with the aid of generator sets.
Embestro also reported to DTI 7 that its main plant has stopped accepting walk-ins since Tuesday, December 21 and is supplying Cebu’s supermarkets and grocery outlets only.
Immediate power restoration
Embestro hoped for the immediate restoration of electricity in Cebu Province for its main plant’s water processing capacity to reach 100 percent.
Nature’s Spring currently processes and sells water bottles with sizes of 10 liters, 6.6 liters, 500 ml and one liter to supermarket and grocery outlets. Embestro said prices of these water bottles have remained unchanged from pre-typhoon days.
Among the commodities that were categorized as basic necessities and monitored by the DTI are canned sardines, processed and condensed milk, powdered milk, coffee, bread, noodles, salt, detergent soap, bottled water and candles.
Malls and supermarkets are urged by the DTI to follow the suggested retail price of these commodities.
DTI 7 said it has been conducting daily price and supply monitoring in 26 major grocery stores and supermarkets in Metro Cebu and affected municipalities to date.
“Reports from the field indicate that prices in these major establishments are generally within reasonable levels,” said DTI 7 Director Ma. Elena Arbon.
“Likewise, our retailers are informing us that there is sufficient inventory of basic necessities; however, there are challenges in transferring goods from warehouse to store shelves.” (KOC)
