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Beef strike leaves businesses in limbo
Cheap meat: Several people buy 1-kilogram packets of beef for Rp 90,000 (US$6) a piece during a market operation at the Pasar Kosambi in Bandung, West Java, on Monday
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Cheap meat: Several people buy 1-kilogram packets of beef for Rp 90,000 (US$6) a piece during a market operation at the Pasar Kosambi in Bandung, West Java, on Monday. The operation was conducted by the local State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to ease the burden on poor people. All the meat vendors in several cities are currently on strike protesting high beef prices, which are hovering between Rp 120,000 and Rp 140,000 per kilogram.(JP/Arya Dipa) (US$6) a piece during a market operation at the Pasar Kosambi in Bandung, West Java, on Monday. The operation was conducted by the local State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to ease the burden on poor people. All the meat vendors in several cities are currently on strike protesting high beef prices, which are hovering between Rp 120,000 and Rp 140,000 per kilogram.(JP/Arya Dipa)
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span class="inline inline-center">Cheap meat: Several people buy 1-kilogram packets of beef for Rp 90,000 (US$6) a piece during a market operation at the Pasar Kosambi in Bandung, West Java, on Monday. The operation was conducted by the local State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to ease the burden on poor people. All the meat vendors in several cities are currently on strike protesting high beef prices, which are hovering between Rp 120,000 and Rp 140,000 per kilogram.(JP/Arya Dipa)
A strike launched by beef sellers in the Greater Jakarta area and Bandung in protest against soaring prices has affected local businesses that depend on the meat.
Beef prices have increased from around Rp 90,000 (US$6) per kilogram before Idul Fitri in July to between Rp 100,000 and Rp 130,000 during and after the holiday.
Holycow! Steakhouse co-owner Afit Dwi Purwanto, who operates 15 restaurants in several cities, said that he had had to increase the prices of his products to cope.
'I've had no supply problems thus far, as the government has only banned [imported] secondary cuts while I use only prime cuts. However, the strike and the import quota cut have affected the prices of prime cuts. I will have to increase prices by between Rp 3,000 and Rp 5,000 starting next week,' he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The chain uses 19 tons of imported beef each month for its 10 outlets in Greater Jakarta. 'If the situation doesn't end within six months, I will have to review my business strategy. The options will be finding new [beef] suppliers or shifting to lamb,' he said.
Emma, a warung owner in Palmerah, West Jakarta, said that she could not serve ribs and beef soup on Monday as a result of the strike.
'Yesterday my beef supplier delivered the last batch of beef and warned me that they would be on strike for four days,' she said, adding that she had had no choice but to temporarily scrap beef dishes from the menu.
Zam R., a soto Betawi vendor in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, said that he had anticipated the strike by purchasing up to 50 kg of beef on Saturday.
'It will be enough for five days,' said Zam, who uses 6 kg of beef a day.
'[If the strike continues] I will have no other option but to close my business,' he added.
Some businesses, however, have yet to experience any impact.
'We have our own special, local importers who serve our daily needs. Currently, our beef supply remains stable,' Outback Steakhouse kitchen manager Azwar told the Post.
Greater Jakarta Beef Committee (KDS) chairman Sarman Simanjorang predicted that Jakarta, which consumes an average of 60 tons of beef per day, would see an increase in beef consumption by 8.5 percent to 640,000 tons this year from 590,000 tons last year.
However, 'the soaring prices of beef have contributed to a decline sales of up to 40 percent,' he said.
Sarman urged beef vendors to immediately halt the strike to minimize the impact on other businesses.
Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said that city-owned slaughter house PD Dharma Jaya and market operator PD Pasar Jaya would introduce a market operation to stabilize beef prices in the market. 'We will sell beef for Rp 85,000 per kilogram,' he told reporters at City Hall.
Shoppers in Bandung, West Java, flocked to beef stalls introduced by the local administration.
State Logistics Agency's (Bulog) West Java chapter provided six tons of beef for market operations in five traditional markets in Bandung and Cimahi, setting the price at Rp 90,000 per kg. (alm)
