TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Farmers are rejecting the government's plan to import shallots, saying that it is not the way to stabilize prices. In the past few days, shallot price has soared to around Rp40,000 a kilogram.
"Importing shallots is not the solution to fix market prices," Juwari, chairman of the Indonesian Shallot Association (ABMI), said on Wednesday, August 3, 2016.
According to Juwari, the main cause of skyrocketing prices is the long distribution chain. "The price of shallots is highly dependent on the distribution channel," he said.
Because of lengthy distribution process, the price gap between farmers and consumers exceeds Rp10,000. Farmers' price is only Rp24,000 per kilogram, yet in the Greater Jakarta, shallots are sold for Rp48,000 to Rp50,000 a kilo. To cut prices, the lengthy chain of supply must be trimmed first.
Production declined during July's harvest season in July, which was why the harvest didn’t come with price declines. However, Juwari claimed that the annual harvest output of some 1.25 million tons is more than enough to meet the national demand of about 980,000 tons per year. This is another reason for farmers to reject the import.
He lamented on how the government is only concerned when consumer prices soar, but does little to nothing when farmers' prices drop. He asked the government to step in when farmers' prices fall. "One way is by buying the farmers' crop for a decent price," he said.
He also demanded that the government, through the state-owned enterprises, can play an active role to stabilize prices.
A shallot farmer from Central Java's Wangandalem Village, Sugito, said that the current price of shallot at the farmer's level is about Rp25,000 to Rp30,000 per kilogram. According to the 50-year-old man, price hikes happen because production drops and seed prices are high.
MUHAMMAD IRSYAM FAIZ
