Trip to Uyanguren.
Uyanguren is the commerce hub of Davao City. This is where majority of the wholesalers & retailers reside. You name it and most often than not it’s here. Traffic here though isn’t as bad as that of Binondo in Manila. Your left foot won’t ache from stepping on the clutch all the time. And yes, most of the businesses establishmetns here belong to the Chinese, with some new one’s being recently established by newly arrived Chinese Nationals and Taiwanese.
I have to assume that it’s origins are the same as that of Binondo, logically to be a commerce hub since it’s strategically located at the ship port of the city. But that of course doesn’t hold true any more for Uyanguren, as Sasa has replaced it as the main port of the City. But, the shops are still there hence it is still the place to go to.
Named after Don Jose Uyanguren, a Spanish soldier of fortune who was tasked by the Spanish Gov. Claveria to establish Spanish presence in the southern part of Mindanao. After a few chopped heads, he succeeded…
I went there today to look for two sacks of rice, 15.5 kgs of cooking oil and 240 eggs (catering for the restaurant). I was able to buy 2 sacks (55 kgs) of 7-tonner rice at one of the wholesalers at monteverde st. for just P1100.00 per sack. I was able to save about P140.00 per bag.
Just rounding the corner of Monteverde and Bangoy St. was a shop that sold oil per kg, you have to bring of course your own container. For the same equivalent in the NCCC, I would save about P400.00 if I bought it here. I guess if you work at an oil seller’s shop, you’d be accustomed to the oil on the ceilings, the slippery floor and the husky coconutty smell.
Delivery trucks transport in large containers and they are pumped up these long cylindrical tanks for storage.
Most traders from Cotobato and Zamboanga travel all the way to Davao for the very purpose of buying supplies in Uyanguren.
Some tips for would be buyers:
1. Never settle for just one shop, canvass in other shops… but you already knew that, right?
2. Try the yellow pages first so you know where to buy it from. And it’s very good practice to call ahead. Oh yeah, the entire telephone directory of Davao for both establishments and personal no’s, all reside in one book… which is just 1/4″ thick.
3. Not all the shops are grouped according to items being sold, so the shop you might be looking for with the best price might be 2 blocks away. But everything here is within walking distance… Businesses in Uyanguren reside in just 3 main streets parallel to one another…
4. If you are a wholesaler, most likely your vendor will direct you to their warehouse and not to their shop in Uyanguren, so that you can avoid the traffic of both people and cars. That’s why it’s very good practice to call ahead.
5. Monday is the busiest days to transact. And yes, they are open on Saturdays.
6. Try not to dress expensively, vendors will charge you proportionally. (heck, I just wear a white shirt, shorts and slippers whenever I go there)
7. There are cheap hotels here charging P250.00 per night for business travellers, so take advantage of it if you need to.
Well that’s it… hope somebody found this useful.
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