High Waves Cause Shortage of Essential Goods in Sampit
Several essential commodities in Sampit, East Kotawaringin Regency, have experienced shortages in the past two weeks leading up to Ramadan 2026. The local government has identified high waves as a major contributing factor, disrupting transportation and distribution from other regions.
Following reports from the public, the East Kotawaringin Regency Government conducted an inspection of essential goods stocks at the Mentaya Central Shopping Market (PPM) on Tuesday (24/2/2026). “Indeed, there are several types of goods that are said to be scarce, but after we communicated with the traders, the problem is in transportation because the waves are currently high,” said Deputy Regent of Kotim, Irawati, who led the inspection on Tuesday, February 24, 2026.
According to her, the shortage is not due to hoarding, but rather due to disruptions in distribution from outside the region due to bad weather. Various goods imported from Java, such as granulated sugar, wheat flour, instant noodles, premium rice, and brown sugar, have experienced delays in delivery. The same applies to onion supplies from Sulawesi.
“Most of the supplies come from outside the region, so when distribution is disrupted, the stock in small shops along the roadside begins to decrease,” she explained.
However, she assured that the prices of essential goods at the PPM Market are still within normal limits and have not experienced a significant increase. “If the prices are still standard, there has been no increase. However, there are indeed some small shops that have run out of stock,” she said.
Regarding the MinyaKita cooking oil brand, Irawati stated that there is no shortage. However, purchases through Bulog must still meet administrative requirements such as the Business Identification Number (NIB) and NPWP.
“Our oil is actually not scarce. However, there are requirements from Bulog that traders must fulfill because the distribution is through a single channel from there,” she explained.
The local government has also received the latest information that containers of essential goods are on their way to Kotim. They hope that distribution will soon return to normal so that supplies can stabilize.
To anticipate shortages, the Kotim Regional Government is also encouraging the use of local commodities, such as brown sugar produced in the Sanuda region, to meet market needs.
“We will encourage the distribution of local brown sugar so that it can cover the shortage,” said Irawati.
She appealed to traders and distributors not to hoard goods, especially before major religious holidays.
“We are monitoring together to prevent the accumulation of goods at distributors. Let’s work together to maintain the availability and stability of prices ahead of Eid al-Fitr,” she concluded. (H-3)