Crisis affects vegetable peddlers

By Benget Simbolon Tnb.

PAMULANG, Tangerang (JP): Parto has a new routine. Instead of trying to beat the earliest bird to get the best bargain, the vegetable peddler now comes to the nearby Cimanggis traditional market a bit later than usual to buy his produce. Then he starts on his daily selling rounds, which have become longer. Since the crisis began to bite he has had to peddle his foodstuffs in more places.

"The economic crisis has bitten into my vegetable business," he told The Jakarta Post recently in Pamulang district in Tangerang, West Java.

Before the crisis last year, Parto always tried to come as early as possible to the market each morning. This would ensure he could get fresh and high quality vegetables.

Prices at that time did not matter so much. Customers wanted the best meat, fish and vegetables that their money could buy. Now their shopping behavior has changed drastically. Very often, Parto said, they only decide to buy after long and arduous bargaining.

"That's why I need to buy cheaper so that I can sell at lower prices to my customers. To do this, I have to do more bargaining myself." He has had to settle for lower quality vegetables to cater to his current customers' behavior.

Parto said that was the only way he could maintain his sales. "But it is still difficult. Although I can offer cheaper vegetables, prices are still more expensive than last year."

He said a tomato now costs Rp 500 (about 3 U.S. cents), up from only Rp 100 last September.

Tina, another vegetable peddler in Pamulang, shared Parto's view concerning customer needs. "Prices keep increasing, but their salaries are stagnant. They seem to buy less every day. They are forced to make ends meet."

As a result, she said, more and more of her customers were also bargaining hard before deciding to buy. If they could not buy cheaper, they just bought less.

"For example, if a customer usually buys a kilogram of fish every day, he or she reduces it to half a kilogram. In other cases, the customer buys it only twice or three times a week. But even worse, many of them don't buy at all. They just buy more of the cheaper items, such as tofu and tempeh (soybean curd)," she said.

Gone

Many customers have disappeared altogether, added Tina. She found out that some of the customers have decided to buy directly from nearby traditional markets, such as Cimanggis, Ciputat and Pamulang.

Others, said Tina, had grown vegetables in their yard. "This is true. I've seen a number of them do it," she said.

Parto said many other peddlers were also facing the same problems. There are hundreds of vegetable peddlers in Pamulang and Ciputat and an unknown number across Greater Jakarta.

Ningsih, a vendor in Pondok Kelapa, East Jakarta, admitted her business was becoming worse every day. "I have experienced a drop in sales by almost half. I'm afraid it will get worse. And I think it's become much worse after last month's riots."

Massive riots hit the greater Jakarta area last month, causing more than US$250 million in damages and about 1,200 deaths. Unemployment is soaring and some are trying to enter the vegetable peddling business to compete with Parto, Tina and Ningsih.

Parto said he has seen several newcomers to the business. But most have only been able to survive for one or two months since consumer demand is poor.

"Some vegetable peddlers in Pamulang have already quit. Those who are still going on only manage small profits. I don't know when this will end. But I hope it will improve soon," he said.