Pasig Palengke vs Puregold Grocery

Veggies at Pasig Palengke

I overheard helpers talking in the elevator about the price of kangkong a few days ago. According to the ate who was holding the vegetable up to her friend's face, water cabbage had only cost her 10 pesos the week before but this one was 20 pesos. Grabe, double the price!  She got it from Robinson's supermarket. Her friend seemed to wonder at the ate's naivete. Of course, everybody knows that items in Robinson's are gold.

My curiosity and concern for my wallet piqued, I decided to compare food prices of the two places I usually go to: Puregold (along Shaw Blvd), which before this blog post I thought had reasonable prices, and Pasig Palengke (Pasig Public Market), which is known for cheap prices.  (Commuting to both places costs me the same so fare doesn't really have any bearing on this comparison.)





ITEMS               PUREGOLD (Sept 1, 2012)               PASIG PALENGKE (Sept 2, 2012)
1. Papaya           28 pesos / kilogram                             20 pesos / kilogram
2. Tomato          58 pesos / kilogram                             35 pesos / kilogram
3. Potato            90 pesos / kilogram                             60 pesos / kilogram
4. Garlic            105 pesos / kilogram                           70 pesos / kilogram
5. Onions (red)  117 pesos / kilogram                           80 pesos / kilogram
6. Cabbage        95 pesos / kilogram                             60 pesos / kilogram
7. Cucumber     75 pesos / kilogram                              25 pesos / kilogram
8. Carrots          117 pesos / kilogram                            60 pesos / kilogram
9. Lettuce          208 pesos / kilogram                            160 pesos / kilogram
10. Snow Cabbage  157 pesos / kilogram                      60 pesos / kilogram
11. Green beans    95 pesos / kilogram                          48 pesos / kilogram
12. Apple            122 pesos / kilogram                          20 pesos / piece

Fruits at Pasig Palengke

To be honest, I don't know which items in these markets were imported but they look similar in quality, size, and color.  Needless to say, I won't be buying fruits and vegetables from Puregold, unless Pasig market gets flooded again.