Cirebon boatmakers stop production

Cirebon boatmakers stop production

Nana Rukmana
The Jakarta Post/Cirebon

Skyrocketing prices of boatmaking materials and lack of orders
over the last three months have forced fishing boat makers in
Gebang village, Cirebon regency to stop production and return to
their old profession, fishing.

Skyrocketing prices, triggered by fuel price increases, have
made it too expensive for the boatmakers to produce.

"As soon as fuel prices were increased, it was hard to get
affordable materials to build a boat. Prices jump so fast,
especially teak, the basic material for making a boat," said
boatmaker Toto.

The government raised fuel prices by an average of 29 percent
in March this year, and it plans to raise them again in early
October in an effort to cut the cost of the fuel subsidy.

Currently, a seven-meter boat is priced at Rp 13.5 million
(US$1,350), from the previous price of between Rp 8 and Rp 10
million. An eight-meter boat is on offer for Rp 25 million, from
the previous price of Rp 17 million.

The escalating prices, Toto said, made it hard to sell the
boats, as their customers, who are mostly traditional fishermen,
simply could not afford them.

"It's already hard enough go to sea, so how can they afford to
buy a boat?" Toto asked.

Nanang, another boatmaker in Anjun village, Gebang district,
had stopped producing boats for some time now.

"It's impossible to make a boat now. The materials are very
expensive and we don't have the money. If we forced ourselves to
make a boat, we couldn't be sure we'd find a buyer," he said.

He said at least Rp 6 million was needed to buy the materials
to build a boat. The rest of the money was for paying the
workers.

"It takes between two weeks and a month to make a boat. But
currently, we have to prepare more money to build a boat because
prices are always on the rise because of fuel costs," Nanang
said.

Although there was no exact data on the number of boatmakers
in Gebang, Toto and Nanang reckoned there were at least a few
dozen of them. "The experts in boatmaking are not many in number,
but they employ many laborers, including fishermen who can also
help," Nanang said.

After leaving their boat-building businesses, many boatmakers
returned to their old profession, fishing. They specialize in
catching a small fish locally known as teri putih.

"Teri putih is our main catch because the prices are good, at
around Rp 18,000 per kilogram," Nanang said.

"So, at a time when we can't produce boats, we're back fishing
to help make ends meet for our families."