Fruit sales up by 60% during election

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The political campaigns, the complicated voting process on April 5 and the vote counting have apparently brought good fortune to dozens of fruit sellers at the Gamping market in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.

Fruit sales at the biggest fruit market in southern Java have seen a significant increase of up to 60 percent.

Head of the market, Edy Subagyo, said fruit sales had begun to increase a few days before the start of the campaign period on March 11. He estimated that the demand for fruit at the market would remain high until the end of the ballot counting on April 26.

On average, the 58 fruit wholesalers at the market purchased 30 trucks of fruit a day, Edy said.

A truck load of fruit weighs 10 tons on average and cost approximately Rp 30 million (US$3,500.00). In other words, fruit transactions usually amount to 300 tons daily, or Rp 900 million.

"But since the start of campaigns, there has been a notable increase of some 60 percent in transactions. On average, 50 trucks of fruit are now unloaded at the market," he told The Jakarta Post a few days ago.

He added that the increase was probably related to the elections as legislative candidates worked long hours during this period. Fruit traders also claimed that political parties held late night gatherings at which much fruit was consumed. Edy said that sometimes it was difficult to meet the demand.

Musbandi, a fruit seller at the market, added that the high demand for fruit was noticeable in the south of Java and several regions outside of Java, such as Jambi, Sulawesi and North Sumatra. He said that most fruit sellers in those areas were supplied by the market.

Despite the increased demand, the price of fruit remains stable. One kilogram of oranges costs between Rp 2,500 and Rp 6,000, depending on the size of the fruit.

Watermelons and melons are priced at between Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,000 a kilogram.

Another seller, Kusyati, added that her profits had also significantly increased. But the wholesaler, who is a native of Yogyakarta, admitted that she didn't really know by how much.

"Sometimes, I can sell 10 tons of fruit in a week, while other times, to sell even two tons in two weeks is hard. But during the election period, everything is sold out. I could sell an average of three tons of fruit daily," said Kusyati.