Traditional markets still quiet, prices remain high

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A day after the Idul Fitri celebrations on Tuesday, many traders at traditional markets had not yet opened up for business, despite the high demand from Jakartans for fresh vegetables and other staple foods.

Only a few traders were open for business and they were lucky, as many buyers were willing to buy their goods at higher prices. The traders acknowledged that prices had soared due to limited supplies.

Buyers seemed not to be bothered about soaring prices and could accept it as, they said, it happened only once a year and they really needed the items.

"It's not every day that prices are so high. Anyway we still have to buy because our family needs a variety of food other than Lebaran (Idul Fitri) meals," Agustina, a housewive, said at Kebayoran Lama market, South Jakarta.

People usually serve ketupat (rice steamed in a coconut leaf casing) as a substitute for rice, and typical dishes such as opor ayam (chicken boiled in coconut milk) and sambal goreng ati (liver cooked in coconut milk and chili).

"Although there is not much choice we need something different," Agustina remarked, adding that she planned to cook simple dishes for her family as her maid had not yet returned and she was not a very good cook.

In the usually busy Kebayoran Lama market, the few vegetable traders there had similar types of vegetables on offer, like spinach, carrots, beans and tomatoes.

The price of vegetables had soared by almost one hundred percent above normal. Prices have not decreased since they skyrocketed at the beginning of the fasting month.

A bunch of spinach, which was usually sold at around Rp 1,000, increased to Rp 2,000 per kilogram (kg) while carrots, earlier priced at Rp 6,000 per kg, now sold at Rp 10,000.

The price of meat was still high, at Rp 45,000 per kg from Rp 38,000 earlier. Meat was rare but fish was available in abundance even though its price had soared. A big tongkol (tuna fish) was sold at Rp 24,000 per kg compared with around Rp 16,000 per kg earlier.

Similarly in Mayestik market, South Jakarta, traders admitted that they did not have any choice other than selling their goods at higher prices due to limited supplies.

"If we could offer lower prices, we would do that. Our supplies are both limited and expensive from the wholesale traders," a vegetable trader at Mayestik market said.

Traders who opened for business knew that many of their colleagues would not resume until Thursday at the earliest, so they decided to open their stalls to take advantage of this.

A chili trader at Kebayoran Lama market said she had opened her stall even on the second day of Idul Fitri.

"Many still came to shop, so why should we close? Meeting with our families at our hometowns can be done later at any time," she said.

Other traders, mostly from outside Jakarta, had left the capital for their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri with their relatives.