Expensive living

When I went to the market one year ago the price for one kilogram of rice was 24 to 28 Pesos. Today the price for the same product is 38 up to over 40 Pesos. Many people say the price is soaring so much because the producers don’t hand over their products and stock them instead in their homes to earn more later on. And why is the oil price soaring so far? Because of the many difficulties of life especially for the poor I had to find out about how is it with other important products. I realized that one square foot of steel roof was 30 Pesos one year ago and costs now 39 Pesos. This is an increase of almost 25%. The gasoline prices increased from around 48 Pesos per Liter up to 62 Pesos for the same quality. In consequence of that the Tricycle-, Jeepney- and Bus prices increased also at around 10 to 20 percent. My experience is, that many sellers and salespeople increase many products for more than 10 percent. When I asked why is it more expensive now, the answer often was, because of the oil price. Even if the product is not really related to the oil price, many sellers try to make more money by this opportunity of general soaring prices. There is always a good reason or even an “evidence” for them. My result is, that many prices increased artificially. I’m sure that even a big part of the oil price is made by speculators. They buy materials and hold them back until the price is higher and they can earn a much higher price. I’m sad about those people who make life of poor people more difficult by searching their own success. Are they responsible traders and aware of what they are doing?

Picture by MH