Jakarta – Traditional market traders once again expressed their disappointment in the city administration Wednesday for failing to "control" modern retailers and protect their businesses.
This time, the traders, joined in the Alliance of Trader Associations, urged the city administration to issue a gubernatorial decree on market regulations to rectify the existing 2002 city ordinance on modern retail restrictions.
"We expect the administration to make an instruction to stop the unfair and inappropriate expansion of modern retail stores, which is causing us to suffer losses," Susanto, a representative of the Association of Modern Market Suppliers, said Wednesday after meeting with the city administration.
The growing number of hypermarkets has been blamed for causing smaller retail outlets to go out of business, despite the existence of the ordinance that limits the size and number of modern stores in each municipality.
The alliance consists of eight associations: the Association of Cosmetics Industries, Association of Traditional Market Traders, Association of Food and Beverages Industries, National Meat Processors Association, Association of Modern Market Suppliers, Association of Electronic Industries, Association of Garment and Accessories Suppliers and Association of Salt Producers.
The alliance has agreed to help the administration revitalize 151 city traditional markets, as well as to establish a traditional market with a new concept called Pasar Kenanga.
"Pasar Kenanga will be more comfortable than your average traditional market, but we have yet to pick the location," said Putri Wardani of the Association of Cosmetics Industries, adding that Pasar Kenanga would be established at the site of one of the existing traditional markets. She said the traders were still working on the concept.
In 2003, the Association of Modern Market Suppliers filed a complaint with the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) against French giant retailer Carrefour, accusing it of unfair competition.
The giant retailer denied it had carried out an unfair business practice by applying a "minus margin" policy in its contracts with suppliers as previously declared by the KPPU, and later filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in 2005.
The alliance reported that traditional markets throughout the city had suffered financial losses of up to 75 percent, and some of the traders made less than Rp 50,000 daily.
"We've been in a difficult situation since many buyers chose to go to modern shopping centers instead of traditional markets," said Ngadiran, a representative of the Indonesian Traditional Market Traders Association.
In 2004, seven traditional markets in the city – Blora, Cilincing, Cipinang Besar, Kramat Jaya, Muncang, Prumpung Tengah and Sinar Utara – were closed down due to financial losses. There are 13,450 traditional markets nationwide, with the total number of traders estimated at 12,625,000.
A 2003 survey by the Retail Measurement Service of AC Nielsen showed the number of traditional markets had decreased by 8 percent over two years, while the number of modern retailers had increased by more than 30 percent during the same period.