Low-price bazaars begin today after minor hitch
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration postponed yesterday the opening of temporary bazaars offering basic commodities at low prices to Central Jakarta residents, citing "technical problems".
The bazaars are scheduled to open today.
M. Yanis of the Central Jakarta mayoralty office refused to elaborate on the problems behind the postponement yesterday.
But he confirmed that each family would be given one coupon, which they could use to purchase five kilograms of rice and two kilos of sugar.
The bazaars, jointly sponsored by the city chapter of State Logistics Agency (Dolog Jaya), will only allow residents with coupons to join the queues, he said.
The system is meant to "prevent people from hoarding foodstuffs for themselves", Yanis told reporters after attending a meeting with Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah and 44 other heads of subdistricts.
The bazaars, which will also be held in the city's other four mayoralties, are to operate three times a week in each of the 44 subdistricts in Central Jakarta and continue until the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly next month.
Yanis said the bazaars in Central Jakarta would offer three commodities: rice, sugar and soya beans.
The prices will be lower than market prices as the goods are supplied by Dolog Jaya, he said.
Dolog rice, which is mostly low-grade produce, will be sold at Rp 1,025 per kilo while shoppers will pay Rp 1,650 per kilo for sugar.
Other basic items, such as cooking oil, milk, detergent, noodles, eggs and meat -- which have increased in price at markets -- will not be available at the bazaars, he said.
On Friday, Djojo Sutardjo of the city's regional economic bureau said the absence of other commodities was mainly due to the unconfirmed participation of producers.
Yanis said the mayoralty would initially provided a ton of rice and a ton of sugar for each subdistrict in the mayoralty, which is home to more than one million people.
Still missing
Due to a sharp fall in the rupiah's value against the U.S. dollar, the price of almost all goods and services have soared in line with the rising level of unemployment in the city.
The Jakarta Post observed yesterday that some staple food items, such as cooking oil and milk powder, are still missing from major supermarkets.
Staff of Gelael supermarket in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, for instance, said the store had run out of cooking oil.
"The stock of cooking oil lasts for a day or two. Whenever we have some stock, customers will buy it all out. So, if you want to get some, you have to be quick," one shop assistant said.
The shelves at Golden Truly on Jl. Pierre Tendean in South Jakarta were also empty of cooking oil and milk powder.
"It's hard to get the usual amount of cooking oil supplies nowadays. Maybe it is easier to get cooking oil at traditional markets," a Golden Truly shop assistant said.
Vendors at Pasar Minggu market in South Jakarta still have adequate stocks of cooking oil and flour which are sold for varying prices.
Vendors inside the market sold cooking oil for between Rp 5,000 and Rp 5,500 per kilo, while the vendors outside the market sold it for between Rp 4,500 and Rp 5,000.
The price of eggs has gone down from Rp 6,000 per kilo to Rp 5,000 per kilo.
"At one time the price of eggs reached Rp 7,000 per kilogram. Now it has gone down because there are sufficient supplies from the egg distributors," Mina, one of the traders, said. (edt/ind)