Meat sellers protest Bandung decree

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Three hundred meat traders, members of the Bandung, West Java, Association of Beef Traders (Apdasi), took the streets on Monday protesting the imposition of a levy on local cattle and value added tax on imported cattle.

The protesters staged a rally at the West Java provincial legislative council on Jl. Diponegoro, Bandung, before 20 of them were permitted to speak to Commission B for economic affairs.

Yayat Sumirat, Apdasi secretary, complained to legislators that Municipal Bylaw No. 26/2001 imposed a Rp 22,500 levy on beasts weighing less than 150 kilograms and a Rp 30,000 levy on beasts weighing more than 150 kilograms.

Meanwhile, 10 percent value added tax was also imposed to imported cattle, causing price of imported cattle to increase.

The suppliers are responsible for paying the levies and the tax according to the decree.

"The levies are imposed on suppliers, who later increase cattle prices. Finally, the meat traders have no other option but to increase the price of the meat they sell," Yayat said.

"This has caused an increase in beef prices in Bandung," he said. He acknowledged that beef was usually more expensive ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan. "But this time the increase is unacceptable and has caused a 50 percent drop in the number of buyers. Our profits have also dropped."

Beef price have jumped from Rp 27,000 per kilogram to Rp 35,000 over the last two weeks.

A meat trader, who participated in the meeting, said that he was earning only between Rp 40,000 and Rp 50,000 per day, or around Rp 100,000 less than he earned previously.

Yayat said that written complaints had been sent to the mayor and the municipal legislative council. "But we have received no response."

Suppliers are now demanding Rp 5.5 million for a cow weighing around 200 kilograms, or Rp 3.3 million more than the previous price.

The association also asked the West Java provincial legislature to help Bandung meat traders negotiate with the suppliers, who are mostly from Central and East Java.

Bandung consumes some 250 cows a day, but only 10 percent of this figure is sourced from West Java suppliers.

Before leaving the legislative assembly chamber, the meat traders threatened to withhold their meat from the market between Nov. 14 and Nov. 16, if the legislators failed to respond to their demands.