Aceh Tamiang's Economy Revives After Disaster, Markets Bustle Again
The economy in Aceh Tamiang is slowly showing signs of recovery after being severely impacted by a hydro-meteorological disaster at the end of November last year. Several shops that were previously paralysed are now operating again, marking the revival of trading activities in the region.
Markets, as the central hub of economic circulation for the community, are also starting to become active once more. Residents are seen crowding the markets to meet their daily needs, creating an atmosphere that is increasingly approaching normal conditions.
One fish trader at Kuala Simpang Market, Herman, stated that the market conditions are now gradually returning to normal.
“Alhamdulillah, it’s back to normal now,” said Herman when met at his stall on Wednesday (29/4).
He admitted that he had only been trading again for about one and a half months after his business premises were cleaned by government officials.
“It’s been a month and a half; it was cleaned by our government,” he said.
The meat market located on the edge of the Tamiang River was one of the public infrastructures severely affected by the flood. Now, fish supplies from various regions are available again.
“There are supplies from Banda Aceh, from North Sumatra, from Medan,” Herman explained.
Herman hopes that the government can soon carry out rehabilitation of the market buildings, particularly the damaged roof sections caused by the flood.
“If possible, we request that these zinc sheets be replaced. Many of these zinc sheets are already destroyed and no longer usable. When it rains, we obviously get wet,” he said.
He recounted that when he first resumed trading, the community’s purchasing power was still low, so his goods did not sell well. However, in recent times, the situation has started to improve along with the increasing community activities.
“In the last few months, it has indeed been a bit weak, perhaps because many haven’t returned to work yet. In this kind of situation. But Alhamdulillah, there is some trade, and it’s showing a positive trend, getting better day by day,” said Herman.
Similar conditions are felt by Nurlela, a vegetable trader at the Upper Market in Kuala Simpang. She has only been trading again for about the last two months after being affected by the flood.
Nurlela sells vegetables obtained from farmers in her village, Bandar Pusaka, Aceh Tamiang. In the early recovery period, she had difficulty obtaining supplies because many community plantation lands were damaged by the flood.
“Now, I’m only selling tubers, spinach, water spinach, from the villagers,” said Nurlela.
Over time, market conditions are improving. Clothing shops, fruit traders, staple goods sellers, and various other necessities are starting to operate again.
Data from the Disaster Recovery Task Force on 27 April records that 196 community markets in three affected provinces are now operating functionally. The breakdown is 114 markets in Aceh, 56 in North Sumatra, and 26 in West Sumatra.