Sending balikbayan boxes to PH  in full swing for the holiday season - video Dailymotion

CNN Philippines

Filipinos in the United States are preparing to have their balikbayan boxes arrive in the Philippines just in time for Christmas.  Let's check the holiday trends in the freight forwarding industry with Manila Forwarder Founder Manny Paez live from Los Angeles, California.   Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 Filipinos in America are preparing to have their Balikbayan boxes arrive in the Philippines just in time for the holiday season.

00:08 Let's check the holiday trends in the freight forwarding industry with Manila Forwarder founder Manny Paez joining us now live from Los Angeles, California.

00:18 Manny, great to have you with us. So this early in November, are Filipino Americans already sending Balikbayan boxes to their loved ones in the Philippines?

00:27 Actually, it's not really that early. It should have started one month or two months ago.

00:35 The shipping time is no longer 17 days. Usually, I would record about 10 years ago.

00:44 We could guarantee the delivery within 22 days from LAX to an address in Metro Manila.

00:51 But nowadays, no company can do that. Of course, there's a lot of delays going on with all the things happening in the world.

00:59 We have some conflict in Ukraine, we have conflict in the Middle East, and it affects a lot, including the transportation industry.

01:09 All right, transportation, shipping routes are being affected by the geopolitical conflicts in different parts of the world, Manny.

01:17 So it always starts during the Bermondt, September or October. But how is the volume this year compared to the same period last year? Is it much more?

01:28 Actually, I talked to different companies about a week or two weeks ago and trying to determine the pulse, not only from our company,

01:38 but for every Balikbayan box company in the USA, as well as some other parts of the world.

01:44 And sad to say, the sales of Balikbayan boxes decreased from 10 to 20% in most companies nationwide.

01:59 Wow, a decrease of 10 to 20% despite many of the countries or all countries already opening up, just like the United States.

02:09 So is it because our US Kababayans continue to face new challenges like high inflation, expensive fuel prices, more expensive goods, and of course, high state taxes?

02:23 Is this dampening the holiday spirit?

02:27 Yeah, actually, it should have dampened the holiday spirit. But first, you are correct in all the things that you mentioned.

02:35 It's just that the baseline from last year, wherein there was a substantial growth in the sales of Balikbayan box business,

02:45 based on that, the decrease now is significant because first of all, as you mentioned, it's the economy.

02:54 The GPN of US and Philippines is not as, it was increasing beforehand, until last year.

03:06 But then after that, the growth is in the US is only 9, it's 4.9% increase in the GNP and then the Philippines is only 4.3% compared to 9.2 in the US in 2022.

03:22 And 13.07 in the Philippines for 2022.

03:27 And then of course, we have to put in consideration that the prices of commodity, as you mentioned, have increased significantly.

03:38 Like Spam used to cost around $2. Now it's 3.37 per can.

03:45 More expensive.

03:46 You have to spend money doing the things that you'll put in Balikbayan boxes. And the average increase about 20% from the increase in the prices of commodities that people put in.

04:01 So, Manny, even though you go to Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, all of these retail store chains that have lower prices,

04:12 I mean, still, inflation has brought up prices for food, for clothing, for toys.

04:18 So with the lower volumes of 10 to 20%, are you and your competitors also raising the price of a Balikbayan box?

04:28 Actually, that's one of the factors too in the decrease in sale.

04:32 Because in the early part of 2023, that's the time when most Balikbayan boxes really increased their prices too much up with the increasing rates.

04:43 In fact, with Banila for Orders, this is the first time in more than 20 years that we have a price increase.

04:50 Only this early part of 2023.

04:53 So how much now is the biggest box? How much would one box cost right now?

05:00 Nowadays, the average for Jumbo Box is $100 to Metro Manila.

05:06 It's from $95 to $100 depending on the company.

05:12 But a year prior to that, it was $75 to Metro Manila.

05:17 So there was also a significant increase in the price of sending Balikbayan boxes.

05:23 But on the other hand, Manny, is there also a decrease in the volume of Balikbayan boxes being sent home to the Philippines during the holiday season?

05:32 Because more Filipinos, more Filipino-Americans are going home to the Philippines and just bringing the Balikbayan box with them and all their pasalubongs.

05:42 They come here maybe in September or October rather than December when airfares are higher.

05:47 So they bring it in the early Bermondts when airfares are much lower.

05:53 That's very true. And I remember we were stuck in our houses for more than two and a half years.

05:59 So now people can move around. So people can travel back to the Philippines.

06:03 Another thing is that during the COVID time, a lot of people are doing nothing.

06:10 So what they were doing is they're putting all the things that they could find in their home and sending it to the Philippines through Balikbayan boxes.

06:17 So the baseline is really, there's a big difference in the baseline from last year to this year.

06:23 And apart from the Balikbayan box, are Filipino-Americans also, instead of sending a Balikbayan box, just remitting the cash back home to their relatives in the Philippines?

06:36 So instead of filling up a Balikbayan box, a jumbo box and sending it home, they would just rather send the cash.

06:44 That's very true. And we also have a money in Renita's business. So there's a significant increase in sending money.

06:51 And also you could look at the fact that the exchange rate between the dollar and US is changing.

06:58 So now the Philippine peso is gaining a lot of ground. I was watching earlier how much is the exchange rate now compared to last year?

07:06 55 to 56. So could we still see more of our Kababayans catching up in the final weeks of November to send back their jumbo boxes for their loved ones?

07:19 Actually, that's true. Just last week and even yesterday, I was surprised with the volume of requests for empty boxes.

07:28 So I would recall that people are still waiting for perhaps the Thanksgiving sale or the Black Friday before they finish doing their Balikbayan boxes.

07:39 And we still have a few weeks for that to be delivered to Metro Manila for Christmas season.

07:47 As I mentioned, the shipping industry is volatile. There's a lot of delays going on.

07:53 So not a lot of companies or not any companies or any company could make a promise that that could still be delivered in time for Christmas.

08:01 However, a lot of people agree that even if it gets delivered after Christmas or after New Year, that's still fine with them as long as they have them delivered and received by their loved ones.

08:14 Whether it is received before, after Christmas or even after New Year, these are blessings, Manny, from Philippine-American relatives to their families in the Philippines.

08:27 Thank you so much for your insights. Manila ForeWater founder Manny Paez joining us from Los Angeles, California.

Sending balikbayan boxes to PH in full swing for the holiday season

Category

Transcript

Recommended