Middle East War Affects Filipino Street Food Vendors

Eric Garcia, 20, is trying to save money by using less fuel for his food cart.

The war in the Middle East has made fuel prices go up, which affects street food vendors in the Philippines.

Eric had to raise the price of his food because fuel costs were taking a quarter of his daily earnings.

He said, 'I'm only earning 1,500 pesos a day because the rest goes to fuel.'

Eric starts cooking at 3 am and sells his food in a neighborhood. He uses a motorbike to carry his food.

A store supervisor said the price of fuel has never been this high since he started working.

The supervisor said, 'If our suppliers raise their prices, we also raise ours. Our profit stays the same.'

Many street food sellers can't raise their prices because customers will go to other sellers.

Ronilo Titom said, 'If we raise prices, customers will buy from other stalls.'

Even if Ronilo doesn't raise prices, he notices that he has fewer customers now.

Ronilo said, 'Many customers bring their own lunch to save money.'

He also said, 'Sometimes we let the soup get cold to save fuel.'

Ronilo said, 'It's very difficult for us.'

The Philippines said that food prices went up a lot in March because of the war.

A French fries vendor raised his prices to compensate for the high fuel costs.

He said, 'I think we have fewer customers because they're spending less due to high prices.'

A call center worker said she's limiting her expenses because of high prices.

She said, 'I have to pay bills at home, so I don't have a big budget for meals.'

A driver said he understands why street vendors raise their prices, even if it affects his own earnings.

He said, 'It's very difficult for us now, and the price increase means a lot.'

He wants the government to lower the tax on imported fuel to help them.

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