Soaring fuel prices affect 'kemplang' cracker producers

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

The small bamboo house clinging to the side of Sulah hill in Bandarlampung is empty, save for the owner, Sainan, 36, who has been in a somber mood for the past few months.

Sainan has been producing kemplang crackers in the house for the past decade, but it looks likely that the house will collapse along with the business, sooner rather than later.

Sainan is one of hundreds of small kemplang producers in Bandarlampung facing bankruptcy due to the ever-increasing price of tapioca, the main ingredient in kemplang crackers. Dozens of kemplang makers have gone out of business since the price of tapioca flour shot up along with fuel prices in Bandarlampung, which has been suffering fuel shortages.

In 2004, a 25-kilogram sack of tapioca flour cost Rp 100,000 (US$10). In March this year, the price increased to Rp 130,000 and it is now at Rp 150,000, while the price of kemplang crackers has remained steady. Kemplang crackers are made of white fish and tapioca, and are produced mainly in Lampung and Palembang.

Sainan, a father of three, said he would be able to survive because he had other skills besides making kemplang, but he was still worried about the future.

"If I stop making kemplang, what will my children eat? My oldest child is still in the 10th grade in high school," said Sainan, who employs four of his neighbors' children who have dropped out of school.

Sainan said many of his neighbors had closed down their kemplang businesses because they could no longer cover production costs amid the soaring price of kerosene.

"The profit is very small. After spending Rp 450,000 to buy tapioca, spices and pay the workers, I only earn a net profit of Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000. We are confused. The price of tapioca has continued to rise, but we cannot raise the price of kemplang due to complaints from our customers," said Sainan on Wednesday.

The price of kemplang crackers remains the same as it was five years ago: Rp 60 per cracker.

The surge in tapioca prices has had a disastrous effect on the kemplang cottage industry. Each producer needs an average of 100 kilograms of tapioca daily. Prior to the rise in tapioca prices, Sainan could produce 22,500 kemplang crackers daily. They are usually packed in plastic bags, each bag containing 25 crackers. He sells each bag for Rp 2,000, and retailers in turn sell the crackers for Rp 100 a piece or Rp 2,500 per pack. Now, after the price of tapioca has gone up, Sainan produces kemplang on alternate days, using only 50 kilograms of tapioca.

Sainan said times were tough, but he could still afford to send his children to school. He is more fortunate than Ayung, 36, a kemplang vendor on Jl. Lobak in Sukarame, Bandarlampung, who went bankrupt in May.

Ayung now sells ordinary crackers that he collects from small- scale producers and then sells at the Bambu Kuning traditional market in Bandarlampung. "I prefer selling ordinary crackers rather than not earning any money making kemplang," said Ayung.