Vegetable prices soar as supply disrupted
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The price of vegetables in markets has soared lately because their supply has been disrupted due to the extensive floods that hit the capital last week.
Vendors at several traditional markets across the city stated on Monday that the existing supplies had fallen short of market demand.
"I usually sell 20 kinds of vegetable. During and after the floods I could sell only five kinds," said 25-year-old vendor Mamat at the Jatinegara market in East Jakarta.
He said the existing supplies were mostly in poor condition as the vegetables had been soaked by rainwater after being harvested and the trucks to transport them had been stuck in long lines of traffic due to flooding of the main road accesses to and from Jakarta.
In most markets it has been difficult to find vegetables, which can only remain fresh for two days.
Mei Fong, 55, who runs a Chinese restaurant, also in Jatinegara market, was among those having trouble in finding vegetables to cook.
"I couldn't find oyong (a squash-like vegetable) at the market as stocks had run out," she said. Even if she had found the vegetables she needed, the price would have been much higher than usual.
Ibu Sugeng, who sells vegetables at Kramat Jati wholesale market in East Jakarta, explained that the price of green beans had risen to Rp 4,500 per kilogram (kg) from their original price of Rp 3,500 the previous week. As for cabbages, the price had soared from Rp 900 per kg to Rp 1,400.
Red chilis have doubled, from Rp 4,000 per kg to Rp 8,000 per kg, while green chilis more than trebled, from Rp 4,000 to Rp 13,000.
Cucumbers rose slightly, from Rp 3,000 per kg to Rp 4,000 per kg. Tomatoes were sold at Rp 17,500 per kg, slightly up on the previous price of Rp 14,000.
In Palmerah traditional market, carrots cost Rp 3,000 per kg, or 50 percent higher than last week's price of Rp 2,000, while a kilogram of beans increased from Rp 4,000 per kg to Rp 6,000.
The price of a kilogram of eggs also increased by 10 percent, from Rp 7,000 to Rp 7,700, at Cipinang traditional market, East Jakarta, while cooking oil rose from Rp 4,000 to Rp 4,500.
Ibu Sugeng said that the price of vegetables would remain high should heavy downpours keep drenching Jakarta.
The scarcity of vegetables has sparked rumors across the city that a similar shortage could effect other staple foods, especially rice and cooking oil. Long queue of customers were seen at several supermarkets on the weekend amid fears that they would run out of supplies.
An officer from the management of East Jakarta's Cipinang wholesale rice market, Samadi, denied the rumors. "There is no problem with the stock."
In Cipinang, rice stocks remained stable, as about 2,000 tons of rice arrived from West and Central Java on Monday.
Samadi said the price of rice had increased by only Rp 100 per kg for various types of rice. The problem lay with retailers, who had been unable to reach the market due to badly flooded roads.
Rudi, a wholesaler in the market, said the number of customers in his store had dropped by about 20 percent due to the flooding.
"They could not reach the market as most areas around the city were flooded," he said, saying that he could usually sell up to 100 tons of rice per day.
Vice President Hamzah Haz called on the public to stop panic- buying basic commodities. He also urged the Jakarta administration to help secure the supply of food in the market.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has cooperated with the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and the Jakarta Military Command to help transport food for Jakarta residents.
"We've asked the military to deploy its trucks to help distribute food supplies," said Minister Rini M.S. Soewandi.
Bulog has reportedly maintained a stock of rice sufficient for the next six months.