Calm returns to stores after panic buying<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The significant strengthening of the rupiah and
\nofficials' massive news campaign on food stocks in the past few
\ndays has led many Jakartans to slowly stop hoarding.<\/p>\n
The queues of customers buying commodities at stores and
\nmarkets returned to normal yesterday evening even though shelves
\nremained empty at some places.<\/p>\n
While some stores limited the number of purchasing items,
\nothers raised the price of their merchandise by 50 percent.<\/p>\n
Some store operators said their empty shelves would be filled
\nby supplies again today.<\/p>\n
After panic buying late last week, calm returned to the city
\nSaturday evening. But some stores such as Goro in Pasar Minggu,
\nSouth Jakarta, were still packed with customers.<\/p>\n
\"But the number of visitors returned to normal again in the
\nafternoon,\" said cashier Asri.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Jakartans flocked to the markets and stores
\nThursday and Friday in a buying spree after the rupiah hit 10,000
\nagainst the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
People resorted to panic buying fearing the rupiah's free fall
\nwould send the price of basic commodities sky high and producers
\nwould stop selling their products.<\/p>\n
City officials tried to control the frenzy by distributing
\nfood and other basic supplies to supermarkets, retail stores and
\ntraditional markets in an attempt to avoid further chaos.<\/p>\n
They also warned people that panic buying would only worsen
\nthe situation.<\/p>\n
As a result, stores in and around the city yesterday were
\nquiet although certain commodities, particularly rice and cooking
\noil, were still unavailable at certain places.<\/p>\n
For example, Makro in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, was still out
\nof rice, cooking oil, milk and baby food.<\/p>\n
\"Most of the goods were sold out by Saturday. We've asked for
\na new stock from our suppliers since Friday but we still haven't
\nreceived an answer. Please don't think that we have stashed goods
\naway to benefit from the higher price later,\" said Dina Erawati,
\na store supervisor.<\/p>\n
A similar situation was evident at Grasera department store on
\nJl. D.I. Panjaitan in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Rice, milk, eggs, instant noodles and cooking oil were no
\nlonger available.<\/p>\n
SK Kurnia, one of the store's cashiers, said customers bought
\nout the goods during Thursday's panic buying.<\/p>\n
\"Now, customers are looking for other commodities available,
\nsuch as flour, biscuits and canned food,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Wal-Mart super center in Mega-Mal Pluit, North Jakarta also
\nsold out of rice, eggs and flour during Thursday's buying frenzy,
\naccording to employee Sugeng.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot guarantee that the stock will be refilled again but
\nwe'll try to restock as soon as possible,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Customers at Goro retail store in Pasar Minggu could not even
\nfind a single bottle of cooking oil yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"The last bottle, which was already broken, was also bought by
\none of our customers,\" said shop attendant Amir.<\/p>\n
Small packs of sugar, rice and detergent had also sold out.
\nOnly big packs remained.<\/p>\n
\"It's crazy. How could I have taken home a big sack of sugar
\nmyself?\" asked customer Tuti of Pasar Minggu.<\/p>\n
At other supermarkets, such as Hero and Golden Truly outlets
\nin South Jakarta, things returned to normal yesterday although
\ncustomers could still be seen buying up certain items.<\/p>\n
Only a few customers flocked to a grocery store at Bintaro
\nJaya housing complex yesterday after it raised the price of most
\nof its merchandise by 50 percent.<\/p>\n
Transport, rupiah<\/p>\n
Early on Saturday, City Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen.
\nSjafrie Sjamsoeddin said that the military would deploy its
\ntrucks to help the National Logistics Agency distribute staple
\nfoods to city markets and stores.<\/p>\n
Besides speeding up the distribution, the trucks' deployment
\nwas also expected to help secure the distribution process,
\nSjafrie said.<\/p>\n
\"President Soeharto has instructed me to help in the
\ndistribution of staple foods,\" he said after inaugurating the
\nPura Agung Widya Mandala Hindu temple in Srengseng Sawah, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
As chairman of the City Branch of the Agency for Coordinating
\nSupport for National Stability, Sjafrie said he had met
\nbusinesspeople and related parties and asked them not to increase
\nthe price of staple food.<\/p>\n
He said the military command was investigating a possibility
\nthat certain parties spread rumors and stockpiled staple foods.<\/p>\n
\"It was done by amoral people. But they always hide and never
\nshow themselves,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In another related development Saturday, the City Police
\nCooperative joined the Love the Rupiah Drive by selling US$4,900
\nfor Rp 34.3 million at Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia's headquarters
\non Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The cooperative's head Col. Faisal, accompanied by City Police
\nspokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang, arrived at the bank at about 10
\na.m. Saturday and changed the dollars with a conversion rate of
\nRp 7,000 per dollar.<\/p>\n
\"The sale of our dollars is a realization of the Love the
\nCountry Movement and Love the Rupiah Drive as the government's
\ncall to overcome the monetary crisis,\" Faisal said.<\/p>\n
He said some of the dollars were collected from the
\ncooperative's businesses, including garment sales, housing,
\ntrading, and the loan and deposit activities.<\/p>\n
He said some of the dollars were also collected from police
\nofficers who kept them after having traveled overseas.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, editors of some of the city's newspapers, members
\nof the Indonesian Editors Group, supported by religious leaders,
\nbusinesspeople and legislators, are to take part in the drive.<\/p>\n
In a written statement they said they would sell dollars today
\nat Bank Indonesia, Jl. MH. Thamrin, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Journalists are not rich, but its time for them to help
\nlighten the country's heavy load,\" senior journalist B. Wiwoho
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The central bank's governor, J. Soedradjad Djiwandono, is to
\nsymbolically accept the change of the dollars from the
\njournalists.<\/p>\n
The state's Bank Bumi Daya will open a counter at the central
\nbank to accept the dollars from the journalists today.<\/p>\n
Some noted businesspeople are also expected to participate in
\nthe drive, including Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono, Bambang N.
\nRachmadi, The Nin King, HM. Jusuf Kalla and Rachmat Gobel.<\/p>\n
On Friday, President Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti
\nHardiyanti Rukmana, first started the campaign by selling
\ndollars.<\/p>\n
She exchanged about $50,000 from her savings account at Bank
\nBumi Daya to buy rupiah. (jun\/cst\/04\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/calm-returns-to-stores-after-panic-buying-1447893297",
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