Vendor readies 13 fruits for customers

FRUIT vendor Rose Faelnar hopes to make better sales on New Year’s Eve as families stock up on fruits in Ramos Market in Cebu City.

With the high demand, fruits cost P30 to P50 more per kilo, she said.

The price hike and recent calamities like typhoon Yolanda, however, have dampened sales.

Faelnar , a vendor for eight years, said she used to earn P50,000 to P100,000 a day in the holidays but this year, she’s earned less than P5,000 a day.

“Last year, a week before New Year’s Eve customers would rush here to buy 13 different fruits,” she said.

Faelnar packs 13 fruits in a beribboned basket, ready for pickup by loyal customers for P950.

The pack includes watermelon, melon, chico, guava, “granada” , pineapple, red grapes, pears, small oranges called “kiat-kiat”, pomelo, apple , orange, and Chinese “ponkan” citrus.

“Some customers complete the 13 fruits and some of them don’t,” she said.

The round shape and number 13 are associated with good fortune and prosperity.

Melons sell the fastest at P100 each followed by red grapes for P250 a kilo and violet grapes for P280 a kilo. She said she plans to increase prices on December 31 but “it depends.” “I’m worried I would have less sales.”/Correspondent Michelle Joy L. Padayhag