Tomatoes, pearls, and war

Since my mother passed away in 2018, I frequently end up buying multiple gifts for her friends, all my “titas,” to remember her by: books, food, mementos. Mother’s Day, of course, is one of those gift-giving days.

Since I buy similar gifts over time, I usually remember their prices and how they change over time. In the last few months, I’ve found myself shocked by the upward price movements as well as the reasons vendors give, now often explained as “gyera.”

I thought this year, the government should start hiring people to monitor prices as they do around Christmas, given the sensitivity of some of these commodities, although the Gulf War movements have been disturbing the way prices affect so many commodities.

To give a more dramatic example, we have the increase in gasoline prices. Who would have imagined P9,100 for a full tank of diesel?! The impact becomes more dramatic when you compare the P9,100 to a similar amount for groceries or a “blowout” dinner, with the total costs coming through almost as obscene!

The senior citizen card and the persons with disability or PWD card have become more appreciated. The price hikes do have some educational value, which is to explain supply chains. How are prices determined? Of course, vendors mostly say “gasolina,” but we need to educate ourselves, too, on what’s behind the war and runaway inflation.

So far, the most dramatic explanation I’ve gotten was a “suki” vendor explaining the inflation around pearls, specifically Chichi’s pearls (yes, look up to the right for Chichi). Some years back, I discovered baroque pearls. Small- to medium-sized pearls that are misshapen (mutants actually), but which have their own charm, beauty in imperfection. Their colors carry the full luster of pearls, and they almost seem like they have designs carved into them.

I remember at an exhibit/sale, a “balikbayan” boasting and displaying a baroque pearl necklace, which she said is always an attraction when she wears it back home in Los Angeles.

I had to keep myself from giggling because my Chichi has several to choose from depending on the occasion: “tiangge” shopping, grocery, or teaching (my assistant), and also depending on her collar. Of course, Chichi doesn’t boast about her jewelry or that she goes digging in the garden even with pearls on.

Baroque pearls do have a way of falling off, and the other week, I realized I couldn’t find her pearls. I was in one of my poststroke depression spells, so I told Chichi I would get her one for therapy (mine), when the vendor promptly offered me a South Sea pearl. She had recognized me as a suki and said Chichi deserves a nice new pearl, especially because it was gyera. (See how the supply chain works?)

Then she gave me the suki price of P500, double the pre-gyera price. I protested, and, of course, she reiterated “gyera.” I retorted: But the pearls don’t come from the gyera places, plus gyera makes everything harder to get. Supply chains!

I thought of how United States President Donald Trump drove the price of eggs in the US to $50 cents or P30 each when Orange Man (Trump) imposed sky-high tariffs on stuff imported into the States.

Just this week, another set of orange tariffs drove up the prices of Roma tomatoes from Mexico to $50 cents or P30 each. Supply chains were affected: the new prices for tomatoes triggered inflation for salads, soups, and hamburgers.

How does all this relate to baroque pearls? I thought of how the balikbayan woman is going to avoid buying baroque pearls back in Los Angeles. But my Chichi just might end up with a South Sea pearl because of the Gulf War, which, I am told, has made South Sea pearls cheaper. Go figure.

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michael.tan@inquirer.net