Brokers and looters blamed for hike in food prices
JAKARTA (JP): Traders and a councilor have said the soaring prices of foodstuffs such as eggs, chicken meat, beef, chilies and rice in the capital during the first few days of Ramadhan was mainly due to greedy brokers and looters.
Contacted separately on Thursday, traders at Cikini and Senen traditional markets, and city councilor Djafar Badjeber, head of Commission B for economic affairs, urged related parties to do something to stop their operations.
Otherwise, they warned, the current skyrocketing prices would increase further over the next few weeks ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday next month.
In the first week of Ramadhan, the price of many foodstuffs had already begun soaring at a fantastic rate (see table), presenting both consumers and traders with difficulties in dealing with the situation.
"How do you expect ordinary people to afford to buy chilies when its price is the same as beef prices?" asked Djafar.
Mardji, head of the traders' cooperatives at the Cikini food market in Central Jakarta, said the price of beef in the capital, for example, was actually under the authority of brokers at the Cakung slaughterhouses in East Jakarta.
"The brokers, for instance, purchase the meat from their suppliers at the slaughterhouses for Rp 15,000 per kilogram but then sell it to us, the traders, at a higher rate, Rp 20,500 per kilogram," he said.
"We traders are helpless and, therefore, have to sell the meat to consumers at between Rp 27,000 and Rp 30,000 per kilogram to make a decent profit," Mardji said.
He said the price could actually be reduced to Rp 20,000 per kilogram, if the brokers -- mostly from towns in West, Central and East Java -- could be eliminated by the city authorities.
In an attempt to gain more profits, the brokers often limit their supply so they could raise up the prices, he said.
"For instance, if traders need 100 cows brokers will only provide half of that," Mardji said.
"There have been too many greedy brokers playing with the prices," he said.
According to him, the distribution of beef and other foodstuffs was "all messed up".
"The city administration announced recently that it was going to import 30,000 cows and buffaloes from Australia. But where are they now?" he asked.
Looters
Djafar gave another aspect by pointing at looters, who always stole foodstuffs, such as rice, eggs and chickens, from suppliers' trucks heading to Jakarta.
Looting forced the suppliers to set their prices higher to the brokers here in order to cover their unexpected losses, Djafar said.
"Many suppliers complained recently that their live chickens were being snatched from the baskets during their trip to Jakarta," the councilor said.
"The same goes for rice. At least 2,000 metric tons should reach the Cipinang rice market every day. Now, it is only 1,500 tons."
The presence of brokers at the market further worsens the situation, he said.
Djafar urged the city security forces to deploy their personnel to the streets in the outskirts of Jakarta to safeguard trucks carrying foodstuffs.
He then asked the protesting students to stop rallying so that the security forces could guard the food supply to the capital.
"Students, please, no more rallies," Djafar urged.
Many traders at the Cikini market and Senen market in Central Jakarta shared Mardji's and Djafar's views.
According to the traders, the soaring prices of their goods did not bode well for their business.
Trader Rutirah, at Senen market, said, "Many customers leave my kiosks after finding out the price of my chicken meat is now Rp 12,500 per kilogram."
A week before Ramadhan, the average price of chicken meat in Jakarta was Rp 8,500 per kilogram.
Even when the price hit Rp 10,000 early this week, only a few customers went to her, Rutirah said.
"So, you can easily imagine my situation now?" she said, holding her chopping knife.
"Some days, I sell no chicken meat at all. It's already 9:30 a.m. (Thursday), and I have only sold one chicken so far.
Before Ramadhan, I used to sell an average of five chickens per day," she added.
Sugana, a trader of vegetables and chilies, said the current "crazy prices" of chilies was hard for him, let alone the customers, to understand.
Many felt it was due to the bad weather, the rocketing price of fertilizers and the existence of the brokers, he said.
But it was really affecting his business, he said.
According to Tini Hadad of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, the current skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs in Jakarta reflected the government failure to anticipate the market during such festive seasons.
"The government said food supplies would come in time and distribution would be no problem. But, on the first day of Ramadhan itself, supplies dropped drastically and so, prices skyrocketed," Tini said. (ylt)
Table: Foodstuffs prices
The following foodstuff prices were recorded at two traditional markets on Thursday, and are compared with their average prices a week before Ramadhan (in rupiah per kilogram).
Senen Cikini Before
Item Market Market Ramadhan
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Eggs 8,200 8,000 7,000
Chili (curly) 16,000 17,000 11,000
Chili (long) 12,500 13,000 9,000
Beef (sirloin) 30,000 30,000 21,500
Beef 27,000 28,000 22,000
Chicken 13,000 12,500 8,500
Rice (Ramos) 3,400 3,350 3,200
Rice (IR II) 3,200 3,200 3,000
Rice (Pandan Wangi) 4,000 4,200 3,800