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Massive losses reported among mask sellers in Jakarta as prices for medical supplies drop to normal

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Coconuts Jakarta - April 30, 2020

Here's a clear-cut takeaway from the COVID-19 pandemic: don't hoard essential supplies to sell at ridiculously high prices, for you may suffer great losses later on.

Or at least, we hope that's the lesson learned by those who have been hoarding masks across the country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, after reports of massive losses are surfacing from East Jakarta's Pramuka Market – renowned for selling pharmaceutical goods – as prices for medical supplies have recently returned to normal.

Medical-grade masks were high in demand at the beginning of the outbreak in Indonesia, the prices of which then soared due to their sudden scarcity. One Twitter user, whose tweet went viral recently, showed that increased production for face masks have since stabilized the prices.

"There are a lot of masks currently available and they're not expensive anymore. This one is around IDR9,000 with 5 pieces [of masks in one pack]. Previously a box of 50 [face masks] would sell for IDR350,000," Ferdiriva Hamzah, an ophthalmologist who's well known on the platform, tweeted on Sunday, along with a photo that shows a pack of face masks he bought at a convenient store chain.

Earlier this month, the Indonesian government announced a requirement for Indonesians to wear washable, non-medical grade fabric masks when leaving their homes, as surgical and N95 masks are prioritized for health workers.

Since then, many sellers at Pramuka Market as well as those on online marketplaces have started selling fabric masks, which are generally more affordable than a box of medical-grade masks.

Prices for reusable fabric masks currently range from IDR2,200 to IDR 30,000 per piece on leading online marketplaces such as Tokopedia and Shopee, depending on their quality and material.

A seller at Pramuka Market, who's identified as Ardi, told CNN Indonesia yesterday that he was only able to sell five packs of face masks per day, compared to dozens in early March, when the first COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had just been announced.

Ardi said that a box containing 50 pieces of medical-grade masks at his store was initially sold for around IDR400K, while the newly-updated price stands between IDR360K and 370K. He said the prices are relatively high due to the prices given from the official distributor.

Speaking to Detik, Yoyon, the general secretary of Pasar Pramuka's pharmacy traders association (PPFPP), said that sales of medical-grade masks haven't been doing really well recently and that many sellers are starting to give the masks away for free.

"[Medical-grade masks] are no longer in demand. We recently distributed [the face masks] to residents around here, to visitors. We haven't got the chance to list [the amount of distributed masks], it's been around a week," Yoyon said yesterday.

Yoyon explained that the few sellers who still offer medical-grade masks are only selling their old supplies. He also said that face mask hoarders are now facing karma for taking advantage of panic buyers.

"To the face mask hoarders who aren't sellers at the Pramuka Market, just bear the brunt. They were torturing people of Jakarta and Indonesia, now they have to bear the brunt. I am very grateful for their masks not being on demand anymore," he said.

Source: https://coconuts.co/jakarta/news/massive-losses-reported-among-mask-sellers-in-jakarta-as-prices-for-medical-supplies-drop-to-normal

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