Brokers and looters blamed for hike in food prices
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
------------------------------------------------
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