No stockpilling reported: Traders

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Contrary to the 1999 elections, when many households and traders stockpiled food and goods for fear of violence, there have been no reports this year of stockpiling.

Large retailers and wholesalers -- including Indomaret, Makro, and Carrefour -- said the upcoming elections had had little impact on the demand for food and goods.

"We have had an increase in our sales for this month, but it is very likely because of a promotion where we are offering special discounts," Laurensius Tirta Widjaja, the operations director for PT Indomarco Prismatama, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. The company operates the country's largest retail chain, Indomaret.

"It has been quite normal over the past three months or so, as if nothing big, such as the elections, is happening," Basuki Ismael, a manager for Makro, told the Post.

"I have not seen any heavy buying by traders or speculators, let alone individual consumers. We usually see indications of such activity whenever something significant like an election takes places. But everything has been normal so far," he said.

There were numerous reports of stockpiling by households and traders during the 1999 elections, which was attributed to the lack of confidence on the part of the people that the elections would be violence-free.

There have been no indications of such "panic buying" this year, although a survey by the Danareksa Research Institute showed that consumer confidence in the economy had declined -- albeit slightly -- due in part to the elections.

Danareksa said consumers saw the elections as having the potential to slow down economic recovery. The economy is still struggling to recover from the financial crisis of the late 1990s.

The fact that not all of the materials for the elections -- ballot papers, ballot boxes, etc. -- have been delivered to the regions has added concern for trouble-free elections, the survey added.

The survey was referring to concern over whether the legislative election would go ahead on April 5 as scheduled, as the General Elections Commission (KPU) -- which is in charge of organizing the polls -- has fallen behind schedule in procuring and distribute election materials.

However, as Macro manager Basuki noted, these concerns have yet to move people to stockpile food and goods.

Hero president Steve Sondakh also told the Post that the elections had not had a significant impact on sales at Hero outlets. "I do not think there will be an impact before the April 5 election," Steve said.

An official at retailer Carrefour also said that sales so far were not the result of panic buying.