Cirebon's rattan industry a victim of SARS
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon
Cirebon rattan exports slumped by 60 percent, or by about US$7 million, following the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Asia.
Exports have dropped from 1,400 containers per month to just 600, blamed on SARS, the Indonesian government's decision to raise fuel prices, the U.S.-led attack on Iraq and the weakening U.S. dollar.
"The rattan industry had not recovered when the SARS epidemic hit. The latest factor really affects our productivity," PT Inter TeNa Mandiri president director Tom Hermanto told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He said the epidemic had made buyers from Europe, the Middle East, Japan and South Korea cancel orders with rattan companies in Cirebon.
"I don't know why the European buyers categorize Indonesia as a SARS country. We have tried to convince them that Indonesia is free from SARS but to no avail," he said.
"It's very difficult to convince them. They are afraid and cancel the orders, which costs us a lot."
Indonesia has never been listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a place to avoid visiting but the country has been affected by WHO's decision to impose a travel advisory on neighboring Singapore. The advisory was lifted on May 31.
Ninety percent of rattan products made in Cirebon are exported, the main destinations being Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and England.
In the last few weeks, around 300 manufacturers and 1,100 home industries in the Tegalwangi Rattan Industry Complex have reduced the number of workers due to the canceled orders from the main buyers.
PT SAE Furnicraft general director Andiyanto said that on average each manufacturer could export four containers per month with a total value of between $6,000 and 12,000 per container.
Trade has dropped from about $12.5 million to $5.5 million.
"Now we consider ourselves lucky if we export only one container a month," he said.
Both Tom and Andiyanto predicted the remaining manufacturers could only survive another six months if conditions did not improve.