TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The economic effects from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to take its toll as the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) revealed that 150 retail outlets in Jakarta were forced to permanently close from January to April 2021.

Citing state-owned news agency Antaranews; “The performance of modern retail outlets has underperformed for the past 12 months,” said Aprindo chairperson Roy N. Mandey in Central Jakarta today.

According to Aprindo, the real sales index (RSI) in the past three months recorded an -18.1 percent contraction (February), -17.1 percent (March), and -14.1 (April) 2021.

Mandey said the current trend is showing a non-significant rise caused by the Indonesian mass-vaccination that continues to advance to this day, which he believes has sparked optimism among members of the public.

People have also started to shop more in modern retail outlets due to the allotment of the national Eid allowance - known locally as THR - which sparked the growth in public consumption.

The Aprindo chair argued that the government does not prioritize the retail sector in the disbursement of pandemic incentives, leading to the closure of numerous retail outlets caused by the imbalance in revenue and operational costs.

Read: Aprindo Asking Govt Subsidies for Retail Workers to Prevent Bankruptcy

ANTARA