Fruit prices

From Media Indonesia

A friend from Singapore and I went to a market near Jl. Gunung Sahari and Jl. Mangga Dua, Central Jakarta. We bought a Parung durian for Rp 10,000 each. My friend was taken aback by the stiff price. Having tasted the fruit he said it tasted about the same as that of the durian in Singapore from Malaysia. The price is currently low (S$1 = Rp 1,650), normally it is S$ 5. As it is, the price of durian in Jakarta is six times that in Singapore.

My friend does not understand either why Pontianak oranges priced at only Rp 500 (the same in Bangkok at 5 Baht) for the A-B type, are sold for Rp 3,500 to Rp 4,000 a kilogram in Jakarta. Oranges from Pakistan also cost Rp 4,000 a kilogram. To explain the situation I could only quote what businessman Sofyan Wanandi said on television -- that the cause is the complexity of the trade and distribution network of oranges.

We wonder indeed why imported fruit from the U.S., Australia, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand are cheaper than local fruit, while in those countries wages are much higher. Why do our agronomists, from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture for example, not try to compete? In horticulture we should not expect investment from conglomerates, because business in horticulture is long term and not the same as property, which is a short term affair. In my opinion the state-owned enterprises should actively plant fruit trees so that by 2010 the harvest can be sold at less than imported fruit. Discounted transport fees from the state- owned airlines Garuda and Merpati will be necessary for effective distribution. Thai Airways once participated in a similar program in Thailand.

Every year, toward Ramadhan, we import thousands of tons of dates. Why do we not try to plant date palms in East Nusa Tenggara or Timor where the soil is more arid? California is now one of the biggest exporters of dates in the world.

This is a challenge for our agronomists. In horticulture we are indeed far behind our neighbor Thailand. Thai durian is actually a cross between the Aceh and another Sumatran variety.

LI TJENG OEN

Jakarta