Turtledove breeders singing a happy tune

By Asip Agus Hasani

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Turtle dove breeders in this ancient town whistle happy tunes now as the economic crisis has thrust other businesses into the jaws of bankruptcy.

Major turtle dove (perkutut) sellers have reported they are overwhelmed by the rising demand for high-quality song birds, especially perkutut Bangkok (Bangkok turtle dove). As the name suggests, bird sellers claim the doves are imported from Thailand.

It is believed that people need the birds' legendary cooing to relieve their restless minds of the stress arising from the various problems that the economic crisis has wrought.

Among the local community, the Bangkok turtle dove is so popular that the soft melodious bird is dubbed the "aristocrat's bird". Due to the high price it commands, only the wealthy can afford to buy it.

"Had the economic crisis not occurred, I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to buy a house," said the beaming Ujang, a 50-year-old turtle dove breeder who has been in the business for seven years in Yogyakarta.

"Apparently, people like listening to their bird as they drink coffee at home during this crisis," he said with a smile.

When the crisis broke in July 1997, Ujang thought his business would go bankrupt because the plunging value of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar had cut people's buying power.

"But strangely, four months after the crisis began, my turtle doves sold like hot cakes," the father of eight recalled.

Ujang, a Sundanese migrant from Tasikmalaya, West Java, bought a house, a Suzuki Carry minibus and 5,000 square meters of land which he has turned into a bird farm from selling four turtle doves.

Three of the four turtle doves were of the jawara caliber, meaning they had once emerged as winners in regional turtle dove contests.

Ujang said before he moved to Yogyakarta, he had worked in a turtle dove breeding farm where he learned the ABC of the business. He started his own business in Yogyakarta with several pairs of turtle doves he bought in Thailand for his former company. Now he has about 700 birds on his farm.

Before the crisis, Ujang said, he could sell only three birds a month at between Rp 100,000 and Rp 1 million each. A jawara sold at only about Rp 5 million then.

After the crisis struck, he could sell between 10 and 20 birds a day and his monthly turnover has risen to about Rp 20 million, he said.

The dramatic surge in the demand for the singing bird has also been reported by owners of larger turtle dove breeding farms. Mohamad Hasan, also known by his Chinese name Law Haw Chien, has reported a 300 percent increase in demand.

Hasan, who owns Andalas Bird Farm, said so high was the demand that he has almost run out of chicks and some customers are willing to wait for several weeks although the price for a high- grade chick is between Rp 5 million and Rp 10 million.

The company has its farm in Jakarta.

"The existing chicks are just too young to be separated from their mothers," he said, adding that he, too, was surprised by the extraordinarily high demand.

Another big name in the industry is Edward Luison, who runs a turtle dove breeding establishment Gunung Mas Bird Farms in Tasikmalaya. He sets the minimum price for a chick at Rp 10 million. Luison claims his monthly turnover is Rp 400 million, making it the largest bird breeding firm in Indonesia.

The second largest is thought to be the Bandung-based Leo Bird Farm, whose monthly sales he estimates to have soared from Rp 200 million before the crisis began to Rp 350 million since.

For a turtle dove fanatic, his pride will be ensured when his bird wins a singing contest. Traders also have great interest in such a contest because the more the birds they have sold win contests, the more popular they will be.

Contests are usually divided into three categories, local, regional and national levels.

A turtle dove which wins a local contest may fetch between Rp 2.5 million and 20 million. One emerging champion in a regional contest -- for example at the Central Indonesia level -- will carry a Rp 10 - Rp 50 million price tag while a national champion may go for up to Rp 450 million.

A turtle dove named after the nation's badminton queen Susi Susanti belonging to Gunung Mas Bird Farm was offered at Rp 450 million after it won a national contest. Susi's achievement has reportedly helped to drive up the price of its peers.

The reputation of Andalas Bird Farm has also been flying high since one of its birds named "Bukan Basa Basi" (Not Just Lip Service) won national contests four times.

Bangkok turtle doves sell for higher prices than local ones although their true origin is always debatable. Many people well- versed in the bird business say that any good doves will be touted by their sellers as "Bangkok" doves.

Bird business people claim that around 4,000 turtle doves are imported from Bangkok through Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya every month. On the market, each pair of imported birds sells at no less than Rp 1 million.

The backgrounds of turtle dove lovers range from city bus drivers, government officials, business people and farmers. Gusti Prabu, a relative of Sultan Hamengku Buwono X is known to be a turtle dove fanatic.

Traders say that low-income people would buy birds priced at below Rp 1 million while the middle and upper class people will be after birds worth Rp 2.5 million and above, including prize- winning ones.

For the wealthy, price is no problem.

"Price comes after quality. So long as the bird is good, the price is not the issue," said Tedy, a bird lover from Jakarta.

Haji Muidin, a timber trader and a turtle dove enthusiast from Kalimantan, claims he did not mind spending Rp 100 million or more for a prize winning jawara.

"So long as the turtle dove is of top quality, I can sell it for an even higher price if I wish," he said when attending a recent bird contest at Prambanan Temple, Central Java.