Cirebon kitchenware industry in truble<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post\/Cirebon<\/p>\n
Kitchenware producers in Cirebon regency, West Java province,
\nhave been facing a severe shortage of raw material in the form of
\naluminum scrap over the past few months ago, leaving the industry
\nin disarray.<\/p>\n
If the problem persists for another few weeks, the metal
\nindustry in Cirebon would close down and hundreds of workers lose
\ntheir livelihoods.<\/p>\n
\"Suppliers prefer to export aluminum scrap for price reasons,
\nrather than sell it to us. They have been selling it for the last
\ncouple of months to scrap traders in Jakarta for higher prices.
\nThe traders then export it overseas,\" said Ganef Sugianto, 40, of
\nthe PD Marta Putra Jaya firm, a small metal goods producer in
\nJadimulya subdistrict, North Cirebon district, Cirebon regency.<\/p>\n
Ganef said that the aluminum scrap suppliers usually came from
\nTasikmalaya and Panguragan district in Cirebon regency. \"We rely
\non them for our supplies, but we can no longer depend on them,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
According to Ganef, all six kitchenware manufacturers in
\nCirebon regency are in dire straits. They will only be able to
\nsurvive for another month, and the fate of 400 workers hangs in
\nthe balance.<\/p>\n
The six companies produce aluminum kitchenware, especially
\npots and frying pans. Three of them are located in Pasindangan
\nvillage, and one each in Jadimulya, Pangkalan and Grenjeng
\nvillages.<\/p>\n
Another entrepreneur, Mrs. Lilik, 37, of the CV Setiawan firm
\nin Pasindangan village, said that she had been having
\ndifficulties in obtaining raw materials since January. The
\nscarcity had caused prices to soar.<\/p>\n
Previously, the price of a kilogram of aluminum scrap was Rp
\n8,000 (88 U.S. cents), while the price now stood at Rp 12,000.<\/p>\n
\"The price keeps fluctuating, but is always generally on the
\nup. The price rose to Rp 13,500 per kilogram last week,\" said
\nLilik.<\/p>\n
Ganef said that he had previously received his supplies of
\naluminum raw materials from Tangerang, Bandung, West Java, and
\nTegal in Central Java. Besides these, supplies were also sourced
\nfrom nearby areas in Cirebon regency, such as Panguragan
\ndistrict.<\/p>\n
\"But at the moment, the supplies from Bandung, Tangerang and
\nTegal have totally dried up. We can only get supplies from
\nPanguragan now, but in limited quantities,\" said Ganef.<\/p>\n
\"In reality, we use aluminum junk such as old pots and pans or
\nother things made of aluminum. We melt them down and recycle them
\ninto new pots and pans. But it's very hard to even get the junk
\nnow,\" said Ganef.<\/p>\n
He said his company had been forced to reduce production, and
\nnow only produced between 400 and 500 pots and pans per day,
\ncompared to 800 previously. The drop in production had resulted
\nin the firm's revenue declining by 50 percent. \"We used to earn
\nabout Rp 120 million in gross profit per month, but since the
\nscarcity of raw materials hit the industry earlier this year, we
\nare only making Rp 60 million a month on average,\" said Ganef.<\/p>\n
The drop in production had also affected the labor force. His
\ncompany now only employed half of the 40 workers it employed a
\nfew months ago.<\/p>\n
Lilik said that she now only employed 30 workers. Previously,
\nher form often employed as many as 100.<\/p>\n
\"We used to produce 1,000 pots and pans daily. It's terrible
\nto think that we can only produce 500 of them now,\" said Lilik.<\/p>\n
Both Ganef and Lilik hoped that the government at both the
\ncentral and local levels would immediately lend a hand to
\novercome the problem. They said that now was the right time for
\nthe government, especially the provincial administration, to help
\nsmall businesses resolve the issue.<\/p>\n
Separately, Cirebon Regent Dedi Supardi told The Jakarta Post
\nthat his administration had only recently become aware about the
\ndifficulties the kitchenware industry was facing.<\/p>\n
He promised to act quickly to overcome the problem. \"We will
\nform a team to immediately resolve these difficulties. We have to
\nsave local small-scale industries as these employ large numbers
\nof workers,\" said Dedi.<\/p>\n
Maman, 26, a worker with PD Marta Putra Jaya, said that he was
\nworried about the drop in production, and that he and his co-
\nworkers were afraid of losing their jobs.<\/p>\n
\"I've been doing all right working here. I get Rp 25,000 daily
\nfor working from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.,\" said Maman, an elementary
\nschool graduate.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cirebon-kitchenware-industry-in-truble-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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