Bamboo flagpole sales drop in Bandung

Bamboo flagpole sales drop in Bandung

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Sellers of bamboo flagpoles in Bandung, West Java, are hardly
smiling nowadays when asked about their sales turnover during the
campaign period, as sales have dropped more than 50 percent
compared to the previous campaign period in 1999.

The flagpoles are mainly used to raise the banners of
political parties along Jl. Soekarno-Hatta and the southern ring
road here. Party flags are also raised at residences.

Dena, 24, who took over the bamboo flagpole business several
years ago from her grandmother, said business was worse than the
1999 election year.

Dena's grandmother had been selling bamboo flagpoles since
1961 along the railway tracks on Jl. Kiaracondong before Dena
took over.

Dena said that five years ago, he could sell at least 1,000
flagpoles each day during the week before the campaign period.
"But now, from a week prior to the campaign period until the 14th
day of campaigning -- or three weeks -- we've only sold around
2,000 poles. Take a look -- unsold stock of bamboo flagpoles are
still piled up, while we have to pay the bamboo suppliers for the
stock," he said on Wednesday, pointing hundreds of bamboo poles
stacked beside a bamboo hut along the railway.

Dena, who hails from Rancaekek, Bandung, said his longtime
bamboo supplier had sent him a stock of around 2,400 bamboo
flagpoles a month before the campaign period started. A week
before the campaign period, another supplier arrived and unloaded
more stock.

"I thought we would sell a lot of bamboo poles, but it turned
out there weren't many buyers. The most we've sold was about 100
poles a day, whereas in 1999, we could sell 1,000 poles in a
single transaction," he said.

Prices range from Rp 2,000 to Rp 4,000 for the smallest
flagpoles that measure 3 to 5 centimeters in diameter, while
bigger flagpoles usually used to raise large banners cost Rp
5,000 to Rp 6,000 each.

Koswara, who comes from Tanjungsari, Sumedang, also bemoaned
of slack business at his stall on the same road. He said sales
were down, even compared to sales ahead of Independence Day on
August 17.

"Sales would reach 500 flagpoles a week before the
Independence Day celebration. From the start of campaign period
until now, I've only sold 300 poles," he said on Wednesday.

Worse, he's had bad luck -- 100 poles of the smallest size
were stolen early on in the campaign period, while he was on his
way home to Tanjungsari, about 40 kilometers east of Bandung. "My
wife had just given birth, so I had to go home," he said.

Slow business was also the reason why Wawan, 35, a bamboo
flagpole seller on Jl. Soekarno-Hatta, sold them at wholesale
prices. "Rather than being idle, I sell the small ones at Rp
1,000 to Rp 2,000 apiece, while I sell the bigger ones for Rp
3,000 at the most," said Wawan, who has been selling bamboo poles
for three years.

The sellers said that the smaller number of political parties,
24 parties this year, compared to 48 in 1999, had triggered the
drop in sales.

The bamboo poles sold in Bandung comes from Sumedang, as well
as Cadas Pangeran, Nagrok, Cikoneng and Rancakalong. The big
sellers in Bandung, including Koswara, Dena and Wawan, do not buy
them directly from bamboo farmers, but through brokers. They are
also responsible for half of the brokers' transportation costs,
which could reach Rp 270,000 a trip.

Koswara said the harvested bamboo they sold did no harm to the
environment as they obtained them from farms owned by Sumedang
residents and not from the forest.

"Products from the forest are forbidden for environmental
reasons. Besides, bamboo from the forest are rather black and
their quality is not very good," he said.