Cargo business on the move in Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
By R. Kristiawan and Anis Suryani<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): On a small street in the southern part of the
\ncity, a group of men worked like a perfectly coordinated
\norchestra to load neatly packaged boxes into a container truck.<\/p>\n
From the appearance of the boxes, it was clear the goods were
\nfurniture and handicrafts, sourced from the many small industries
\nand home businesses in the area. As soon as they were loaded, the
\ntrucks set off to their destinations both within the country and
\nfor far distant ports.<\/p>\n
It is a scene repeated day in and day out in the city, where
\ncargo has become big business.<\/p>\n
The first businesses were set up in the 1990s, with most of
\nthem originally branches or representatives of cargo companies in
\nother cities. For example, PT Satuan Harapan, under the name PT
\nSamudera Indonesia, first entered Yogyakarta in 1990 after
\noperating for several years in Semarang and Surakarta. It was one
\nof the first firms to realize the potential for exports from
\nYogyakarta, one of the cultural hubs of the country.<\/p>\n
When the economic crisis struck three years ago, companies
\nattempted to export in a desperate survival tactic to earn
\nforeign currency -- and cargo services skyrocketed.<\/p>\n
Despite the emergence of new firms in the past few years, the
\nolder, established ones continue to be relied upon. Head of
\nSatuan Harapan's Yogyakarta branch Budi Prasetyo said it was
\nbecause the firms already had the necessary contacts abroad and
\nwere also well acquainted with the various bureaucratic
\nprocedures.<\/p>\n
Ritra Cargo, like Satuan Harapan, is one of the older firms;
\nit began operating in 1990 as a branch of Ritra Cargo Jakarta.
\nThe branch was opened because of the promise of Yogyakarta's
\ngrowth in furniture production in the wake of producers from
\nJepara moving to the city because their own market had reached
\nsaturation point.<\/p>\n
Budi said the catalyst for the companies' booming business was
\nthe furniture business.<\/p>\n
Furniture and handicrafts are Yogyakarta's two mainstay
\nproducts for exports, and have been for the last five years. Wood
\nfurniture exports, according to the local trade and industry
\noffice, increased from more than US$7 million (from total
\nnational exports in the sector of more than $83 million) to $20.5
\nmillion in 2000, from the national exports totaling almost $97
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
Rattan and bamboo furniture are also exported; 10 types of
\nhandicrafts were joint second on the list of exports, followed by
\ntextiles (the once promising leather industry is now effectively
\nmoribund, as leather tanning industries in Manding, Bandul,
\nprefer to export their products than supply to local craftsmen).<\/p>\n
Competition<\/p>\n
With companies increasing their exports during the crisis, the
\nturnover of Ritra and Satuan Harapan increased five-fold, but the
\nfirms also dealt with more competition from five new firms.<\/p>\n
There was also the emergence of small firms -- what Budi terms
\n\"local\" -- with few contacts abroad but which turned up the heat
\nin the small industry by slashing fees. The latter remains an
\nissue because there is no industry agency to regulate the fees.<\/p>\n
Satuan Harapan fixes an average fee of Rp 1 million per a
\nsmall container (of 20 feet) plus $150, and Rp 1.25 million for a
\nbig container (40 feet) plus $220. The fee does not include
\nshipment to the destination, which varies according to the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
According to Ritra branch manager Aryono Simohartono, on
\naverage cargo companies took a 20 percent margin. Ritra Cargo
\nhandled 30 to 40 containers in one month, for an average fee of
\n$400.<\/p>\n
Aryono and Budi acknowledged the industry may soon face
\nproblems if there was a downturn in exports by furniture makers.
\nThey said Chinese and Vietnamese manufacturers had obtained
\ncopies of furniture catalogs from Jepara and were able to produce
\nfurniture of an equal quality to that produced in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Aryono said the flow of tourism also influenced the cargo
\nbusiness, as the demand to export goods such as handicrafts and
\nfurniture usually began with them. The current hotel occupancy
\nrate of 30 percent was a sign that an effort was needed to lift
\nthe tourism industry out of its doldrums.<\/p>",
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