Some 5,030 Pangasinense households have benefited from discounted basic commodities and saved transportation costs through the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) “diskwento” caravan.

The caravan was conducted last year in 196 barangays in Pangasinan and has generated over PHP16 million in sales amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Nagpunta tayo sa mga lugar na hirap sa pagbili ng mga basic and prime commodities lalo na hirap sila sa byahe dahil sa pandemic (We went to areas where consumers have difficulty accessing basic and prime commodities and transportation was also scarce due to the pandemic),” DTI Pangasinan provincial director Natalia Dalaten said in an interview Monday.

The diskwento caravan is a DTI initiative in partnership with the manufacturers and distributors of basic necessities and prime commodities, which aims to provide reasonably-priced quality products to the consumers, according to the DTI.

These food products are priced lower than their suggested retail prices and sometimes are being sold in packs which provide savings to consumers, it added. (PNA)