Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Lenny had been waiting almost two hours Sunday for the truck delivering low-cost rice to arrive at the Pasar Minggu traditional market in South Jakarta.
The solid gold bracelet on her right wrist suggested she was not among the intended targets of a government market operation aimed at keeping rice affordable for poor people and flood victims. "I resell the cheap rice in a small grocery shop in my house," she told The Jakarta Post.
The resident of Jagakarsa earned a larger margin from the inexpensive rice since she only had to pay Rp 3,750 (41 US cents) per kilogram, and she could sell it at the "normal" price of Rp 5,000 at home. Usually she would have to pay a rice seller Rp 4,500 per kilogram for the same type of rice.
The scorching heat of the day had spoiled her makeup by the time the truck arrived at 11:20. To her disappointment, the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) employee allowed her to buy only one 20-kilogram sack of rice. "They usually allow me to buy two or three sacks," she grumbled, and went home.
The recent floods in the city and in rice-producing areas of Indonesia have sent rice prices into the stratosphere for the past few weeks.
Even though the administration provided 80,000 tons of rice from Bulog stockpiles and the city's primary rice market in Cipinang, East Jakarta, prices kept soaring and reached more than Rp 6,000 per kilogram.
Bulog, who had been given the right to sell rice in every traditional market in a bid to stabilize prices, failed to identify who was buying. Sellers in the traditional markets and roadside stands used the opportunity to speculate on prices.
Nasir, a rice seller at Senen traditional market, Central Jakarta, said that he had been buying as many as 15 sacks of rice daily during the Bulog operation.
"Of course, I do not buy all the sacks myself. I usually hire people to buy separate stocks for me," he said. He sold the rice for Rp 6,300 per kilogram when Bulog did not come for more than a day.
If the quality of the rice was quite good, he would sell it immediately at a high price. If it was not as good, he would mix it with higher-quality rice and sell it at half price.
Each Bulog truck that comes to the 151 traditional markets in Jakarta usually carries up to six tons of rice. They generally stay for just two hours since most buyers purchase sacks instead of a few kilograms.
"How can I know which of them is poor or rich? I sell to everyone who comes to the truck," said Selamat, a Bulog officer who led the market operation at Pasar Minggu on Sunday. He was satisfied when all of the rice had been distributed to people in the area.
Jakarta Trade and Industry Agency head Ade Suharsono said rice stocks in the city were fine, but added that it was hard for his agency to stop rice speculation.
"According to the administration bylaw, each wholesaler has the right to stock up to five tons. But we are focusing on distributing rice instead of checking on wholesalers' warehouses," he said.
Ade said the floods had affected stocks of high-quality rice in the city as regions, especially in West Java, held onto their stocks in anticipation of a harvest failure in March.
Ade said the city could still overcome the low amount of high quality rice by importing rice from Vietnam.
The administration has been importing 5,800 tons of rice from Vietnam every five days to help meet the city's demand of 2,500 tons per day."It will be fine as long as the media does not make more of market jitters than they should," he said.