Brass industry facing collapse after bombings

Brass industry facing collapse after bombings

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post/Mojokerto

Sumarni, 46, a brass handicrafts artisan in Bejijong village,
Trowulan, Mojokerto, is at a loss to know what to do now that the
distributor from Bali has temporarily halted buying the brass
statues now lining up in her house. She says that last Saturday's
blasts and the recent fuel price hikes were behind the falloff in
orders. "I'm confused about what I'm going to do with the
merchandise. I have to pay the production costs and workers'
wages," she told The Jakarta Post.

She then recalled the bomb attacks on Bali in 2002, when
production was totally paralyzed. She had to close her business
for two months and her 45 employees were laid off. After
reopening, her business slowly started recovering, albeit slowly.
Despite a 50 percent drop in turnover from Rp 40 million
(US$4,000) before the bomb scare to Rp 20 million now, she was
still able to produce and sell the handicrafts. The business had
fully recovered a year later.

However, her relief was short-lived. With her business
starting to thrive again this year, the government increased fuel
prices on Oct. 1, dealing another blow to the brass handicrafts
industry in Trowulan, the former center of the Majapahit empire.
The increase in fuel prices has resulted in the price of brass
increasing from Rp 18,000 per kilogram to Rp 24,000 per kg.

The increase in metal prices resulted in the distributors from
Bali temporarily halting their orders until price adjustments
were made to take account of the fuel price hikes.

As a result, Sumarni has been forced to lay off eight of her
45 employees, while the other workers have had to take holidays
while awaiting for new orders from Bali.

"Before the bomb attacks, the demand had dropped due to the
increase in metal prices. These were just the culmination of a
series of problems arising from the fuel price hikes," said
Sumarni.

The brass handicrafts industry in Trowulan is the main source
of income for local people, besides carving stone sculptures.

There are at least 40 craftsmen working in the trade, while
many more people are employed as menial laborers earning between
Rp 10,000 and Rp 17,000 per day.

Sumarni is still very fortunate compared to the other people
in Trowulan who rely totally on the handicrafts trade.

During the downturn, Sumarni can still earn money by selling
basic necessities, such as rice, coffee and sugar, as well as
from the telecommunications kiosk she runs. However, for
craftsman like Sunardi, 40, whose business had yet to recover
from the previous bombings in 2002, the increases in fuel prices
and the recent bombings will almost certainly force him out of
business.

He said the fuel price hikes had triggered a rise in the cost
of materials, and had resulted in the distributors postponing
making purchases.

The fuel price hikes and the bombings in Bali had had a
negative impact on his earnings, which had dropped by nearly 70
percent from his previous average monthly earnings of about Rp 30 million.

"Bali is where all the families' earnings come from. It's
inconceivable to think that the bombers, who are Indonesian
citizens, could destroy the livelihoods of their fellow
citizens," he said.