Traditional markets quiet during long holiday

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The littered and muddy streets in traditional markets do not see the usual lively bargaining between sellers and buyers these days, as most people are still on holiday in their hometowns.

When The Jakarta Post visited Kramatjati Wholesale Market and Jatinegara Regional Market in East Jakarta on Thursday, they were relatively quiet. Most vendors said that the situation would return to normal next Monday.

In Kramatjati market, which provides fruit and vegetables for other traditional markets in the capital, some sellers, such as those selling orange and fresh vegetables, opened their kiosks. Few customers were around.

"The producers from the areas near Jakarta have sent fresh goods," said Jangkung, who sells vegetables and fruit. He gets his supply from Serang in Banten and Sukabumi in West Java.

This year's Idul Fitri brought a loss instead of the expected increased profit for him. Jangkung had stocked a lot of vegetables and papayas because last year there was a lack of such goods.

Unfortunately, it was quieter this year. "I will have to throw those out today if I cannot sell them," he said as he pointed to a heap of papayas.

At Jatinegara market, an egg vendor, Liana, told the Post a similar thing. "It's much quieter this year," she said. "I think it's because of the long holiday. Most employees who usually shop here are away."

Liana's stall is one of the many encircling the central building. Other than fruit, egg and vegetable vendors, there were also household goods sellers. Most of their goods were still piled and covered with blue plastic sheets.

Inside the central building, several clothing shops were open and some customers were spotted looking at the colorful dresses. The building was officially closed, but people could come and go through one door that was opened. The other doors were closed due to security reasons.

The building's basement, which houses meat, seafood, chicken, and vegetable stalls, were very quiet. Few sellers were seen cleaning their stalls and no visitors were around.

Unlike other markets, the Kebayoran Lama market in South Jakarta still enjoy a flock of buyers. The second and third floor of the central building appeared to be closed but many of the clothes shops on the ground floor were open.

The vendors outside, who provide daily needs such as chicken, chili, onion or salted fish, have opened their kiosks since Wednesday.

Vendors said that many of them stayed open because they could not return home for having not enough money.

"There was no money to go home," said Royati, a spice seller who comes from Cirebon, West Java. She suffered a big loss on chili as she had bought 100 kilograms of chili at Rp 11,000 (US$1.29) a kilogram but was forced to sell them at Rp 3,000 per kilogram because of an oversupply on the market.

"Last year, the price of chili hit Rp 50,000 per kilogram," she sighed.

The numerous sellers were met by plenty of buyers too. "People come here because this market is known to be the cheapest," said a chicken seller. Even though quieter than usual, it was still busier than other markets, she said.