Agustinus Hari, Manado, South Sulawesi – Despite the increasing number of deaths linked to the coronavirus disease COVID-19, supermarkets in Manado are still selling paniki (bat meat).
Local people continue to seek out the bat meat in supermarkets for dinner or parties.
"There are many supermarkets that sell paniki. We have no difficulty in purchasing it," Arie Kewok, a fan of bat dishes said on Wednesday.
Manado Bahu Freshmart supervisor Henny Tendean said the government had yet to prohibit the sale of bat meat.
"Moreover, we still receive demand from the public. I guess they are not afraid of the coronavirus, which is suspected to have originated in paniki," she said.
Nevertheless, sales of bat meat have decreased significantly since the coronavirus outbreak.
"The sales have decreased by 50 percent since the start of February. Local paniki suppliers are having difficulty in obtaining the bat meat. We sell it at a cheap price, Rp 10,500 [77 US cents] per kilogram."
Rizky of Manado Transmart also reported a similar situation.
"We've only had a few buyers since the coronavirus broke out. We only sell paniki to clear out our stock. If our stock runs out we will stop selling the bat meat because Transmart has stopped selling paniki in its stores nationwide," he said. (dpk)