Cooperatives to get discount from producers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Manufacturers of consumer goods agreed at a
\nmeeting yesterday to shorten distribution lines and sell their
\nproducts directly to cooperatives at wholesale prices.<\/p>\n
However, manufacturers belonging to the Salim Group have
\nrefused to join the scheme.<\/p>\n
\"Nineteen major producers have agreed to join the program and,
\nbasically, only follow-up negotiations are needed to settle
\ndiscount prices and terms of payments,\" said Ricardo Gelael, the
\npresident of the Goro wholesale center.<\/p>\n
Yesterday's meeting was attended by Minister of Cooperatives
\nand Small Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya and Coordinating
\nMinister for Trade and Industry Hartarto.<\/p>\n
In their speeches to the meeting, both ministers encouraged
\nexecutives of the large industrial companies to join the program,
\nsaying it was a good example of partnership between large and
\nsmall business and would be mutually beneficial.<\/p>\n
Among the participants yesterday was Hutomo Mandala Putra,
\nwhose Humpuss Group has shares in the Goro wholesale center.<\/p>\n
The head of the Salim Group, Anthony Salim, who was expected
\nto pledge his company's commitment to the new scheme, failed to
\nattend the meeting.<\/p>\n
The Salim Group, which has extensive upstream and downstream
\nbusinesses, has a dominant position in the consumer goods market.
\nIt also has its own network of distributors.<\/p>\n
Ricardo said that under the proposed scheme \"cooperative
\ndepots\", to be set up by groups of cooperatives, will get their
\nsupply of goods directly from manufacturers.<\/p>\n
The goods will be sold by the manufacturers at wholesale
\nprices with discounts of between three percent and 4.5 percent,
\ndepending on the terms set between the producers and the
\ncooperatives, he added.<\/p>\n
These activities will be coordinated by Goro, which will act
\nas the guarantor of payments to the manufacturer and of supplies
\nto the cooperative depots.<\/p>\n
Currently, retailer cooperatives cannot get supplies directly
\nfrom manufacturers. Their chain of suppliers includes several
\nwholesalers, distributors and sub-distributors.<\/p>\n
Ricardo said that Goro, which will also provide technical
\nassistance to the cooperatives, will obtain a fee of between 0.3
\nand 0.5 percent for its pre-financing and factoring services.<\/p>\n
Among the producers which have agreed to join the scheme are
\nUnilever, Nestle, Coca Cola and Gudang Garam.<\/p>\n
Ricardo said 27 cooperative depots will be set up in Java next
\nyear. Others, outside Java, will be established the following
\nyear.<\/p>\n
Ricardo said negotiations with manufacturers in the Salim
\nGroup, which has extensive distribution lines of its own, have
\nyet to be completed.<\/p>\n
\"They did not give explicit reasons for their refusal to join
\nthe scheme,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added: \"What the producers fear most may be that the scheme
\nwill damage their distribution networks -- for those that do have
\nsuch networks,\" Ricardo added.<\/p>\n
However, the scheme will be implemented even if the
\nmanufacturers in the Salim Group, such as Indofood, refused to
\njoin.<\/p>\n
Ricardo said further negotiations with Indofood, which
\nproduces instant noodles and a variety of other food products,
\nmay result in a compromise on the size of the discounts to be
\nextended to cooperatives.<\/p>\n
\"But we have to make sure that (compromises) don't cause
\nfinancial disadvantages to the cooperatives. They must still make
\na profit out of the scheme,\" he added.<\/p>\n
\"The only disadvantage cooperatives will suffer if Indofood
\ndoesn't join the scheme is that their retail stores will lack a
\nvariety of brands. But there are many other brands which can
\nsubstitute for Indofood's products,\" he said. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cooperatives-to-get-discount-from-producers-1447893297",
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