Bottled water a lucrative business<\/p>\n
By Soeryo Winoto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Before the 1970s, no one had ever thought that
\nselling drinking water would become a lucrative business in this
\narchipelagic country.<\/p>\n
In those days, for people living in urban areas, drinking
\nwater meant the clean and consumable water supplied by the city
\ncompany for drinking water (PDAM).<\/p>\n
People in rural areas then had little knowledge about health
\nor hygiene and were not particular about the water they drank.
\nThey drank well water albeit many of the wells were located close
\nto rivers.<\/p>\n
No one anticipated too that rapid population growth would
\nthreaten the purity and abundance of our water sources.<\/p>\n
Few were aware that industries can consume more water than
\nagriculture. And even fewer had thought that the country's
\neconomy would one day depend not only on agriculture, but
\nindustries too. The public had also never thought that they would
\none day have to pay for drinking water, which is more expensive
\nthan gasoline.<\/p>\n
Those living in densely populated villages had difficulties
\nseeking proper spots for digging wells, what with the many septic
\ntanks here and there. Those living in urban areas started to
\ncomplain about the muddy and smelly tap water supplied by PDAM.<\/p>\n
People in rural areas, who use water from rivers or waterways
\nfor their daily needs, were being \"poisoned\" by industrial
\neffluent discharged indiscriminately into these water sources.The
\nfact that the government had not effectively used water from
\nrain, rivers and the ground, also contributed to the scarcity of
\nconsumable water.<\/p>\n
This was when Tirto Utomo came up with the idea of bottling
\ndrinking water.<\/p>\n
Tirto Utomo established his first such factory in Bekasi, West
\nJava, in 1973. The bottled water was called Aqua, a name that
\ncould be easily remembered. Today drinking water is generally
\nreferred to as air aqua (aqua water). \"Aqua\" means water in
\nLatin.<\/p>\n
Since then many other brands of bottled water have entered the
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
After almost 30 years, Aqua is still the leading player in the
\nbusiness. PT Aqua Golden Mississippi, the producer of Aqua, now
\nhas 12 factories.<\/p>\n
According to recent records at the Ministry of Trade and
\nIndustry, the Directorate General of Food and Medicine Control
\nat the Ministry of Health and the Statistics Bureau, Aqua holds
\n36 percent of the market, followed by Ades with 19 percent, VIT 8
\npercent and 2 Tang 6 percent.<\/p>\n
\"With more players in the business, the market will be almost
\nequally shared among them,\" Willy, deputy chairman of the
\nAssociation of Indonesian Producers of Packaged Drinking Water
\n(Aspadin), said, adding that the association did not promote or
\nmarket any of the products.<\/p>\n
Records also indicate that last year Aqua consumed about 2.5
\nbillion liters of water, out of the five billion liters used by
\nproducers of bottled water.<\/p>\n
In 1999, out of the more than 4 billion liters of water used
\nby bottled water producers, 1.75 billion liters was used by Aqua.
\n(See Tabel)<\/p>\n
In an interview with a Jakarta-based magazine last year,
\nWilly, who is also director for industrial affairs of PT Aqua
\nGolden Mississippi, said the company expected Rp 700 billion in
\nrevenue in 2000.<\/p>\n
The actual revenue of the company in 2000 was not available.<\/p>\n
The lucrative bottled water business here has lured foreign
\nproducers.<\/p>\n
\"The entry of imported products cannot be avoided in such an
\nopen era. But local products are keeping steady as domestic and
\nimported products have their own market segments,\" Willy said.<\/p>\n
Imported bottled water is more expensive than those locally
\nproduced, thus the imported products is not more than 0.1 percent
\nof the total bottled water consumption in the country.<\/p>\n
\"There are less than 10 imported products,\" he said, citing
\nEvian, Volvic, Perrier, Canadian Clear as examples.<\/p>\n
270 companies<\/p>\n
There are now about 270 companies registered as bottled water
\nproducers at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.<\/p>\n
\"About 150 of them are actively producing bottled water,\"
\nWilly Sidharta, said.<\/p>\n
The many players in the market have given rise to stiff
\ncompetition and unhealthy rivalry. For example, many brand names
\nof bottled water producers resemble that of Aqua, such as Club
\nAqua, Aquaria and Quaqua.<\/p>\n
Aqua is PT Golden Mississippi's trademark, but the company had
\nfailed to obtain a patent for its product.<\/p>\n
\"Some producers reuse the plastic bottles, which are supposed
\nto be disposed for hygienic reasons,\" said Willy. \"Such
\ntransgressions are mostly perpetrated by unregistered companies.\"<\/p>\n
According to the association, five-gallon containers have also
\nbeen misused. \"Unscrupulous producers refill containers bearing
\nnames of other brands,\" Willy added.<\/p>\n
\"This is a trade and business transgression which can damage
\nthe reputation of legitimate producers,\" Willy said.<\/p>\n
An illegal producer, who operates in Ciputat, at the border of
\nSouth Jakarta and Tangerang, Banten, told The Jakarta Post that
\nconsumers could hardly tell the difference between the legally
\nand illegally produced bottled water.<\/p>\n
\"The (illegally produced) water is as clear as those legally
\nproduced. The taste is also almost the same,\" he said, declining
\nto explain how he and his men processed the water.<\/p>\n
But a buyer called the public to be more vigilant when
\npurchasing the five-gallon bottled water. \"The illegal products
\nhave the plastic seals around the containers' neck sloppily
\npressed. The seals are usually loose as the producers use hot
\nwater to tighten the seals.\"<\/p>\n
Many people have complained about substances floating in
\nbottled water or the water tasting sour.<\/p>\n
The association, which has only 70 of the 270 producers
\nregistered at the Ministry of Trade and Industry as members, is
\nunable to stop the illegal practices.<\/p>\n
\"We don't have the authority or legal power to take action
\nagainst illegal or dishonest producers. We only cooperate with
\nthe Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Health
\nregarding any irregularities,\" said Willy.<\/p>\n
\"Dealing with such a problem is time consuming. The key is to
\nreinforce laws that regulate the production of bottled water,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, we call on all producers to become members of the
\nassociation. In this way the association can guide them to
\nproduce better quality drinking water. Members must abide by the
\nassociation's code of ethics as the objective of the association
\nis to maintain the quality of bottled water and seek ways to
\ndevelop the industry in a healthy manner.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bottled-water-a-lucrative-business-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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