Local Beef - High Demand Keeps Prices Steep

The high demand for local beef, as opposed to the less popular imported beef, continues to boost its price in the market. Beef prices remain in the range of Rp110,000 to Rp120,000 per kilogram.

This is despite the government's intervention in the market by flooding it with imported beef to decrease prices. Until Wednesday (15/6), fresh beef prices at traditional market places in Bandar Lampung hovered around Rp110,000-120,000 per kilogram. Daman, 45, a beef seller at Smep Market, said prices had been at that level for the last three weeks.

High purchasing prices that domestic cow farmers and market players have to contend with, between Rp 40,000 and Rp 42,000 per kilogram, keep beef prices high. As a result, beef sellers cannot afford to sell below Rp 100,000 per kilogram.

Tampan Sujarwadi, Bandar Lampung's meat sellers association chief, said beef prices could not possibly go below Rp 80,000 per kilogram. This is because market players have to shell out Rp 20,000 per head for cutting and transportation costs.

He strongly denied any link between an unnecessarily long supply chain and the high prices of beef. Currently, the supply chain for beef extends from the cow farmers, the butchers, to beef sellers in the market place.

Lowered demand

Meanwhile, beef and poultry sellers in Bandung, West Java are reducing their stock because of lowered demand. The lowered demand is a function of the high prices of fresh meat.

"The buyers haven't come around the past two weeks. It's because of the high beef prices so people have held back from buying," said Rudi (30), a beef seller at Cihaurgeulis, on Wednesday (15/6). "So, stock also needs to go down."

Over the last week, Rudi has lowered his daily beef stock from 30 kilograms to 15 kilograms. Beef prices at his market are at Rp 122,000 per kilogram.

"Those 15 kilograms may not even sell in a day so it'd be better to go with less," Rudi said.

Asrul, 28, a beef seller at Kosambi Market, agreed. He, too, is reducing daily stock from 35 kilograms to 20 kilograms.

At Kosambi Market, beef sells for over Rp 120,000 a kilogram. "Stock goes with demand. Since last month, buyers have been few because prices are so high," said Asrul.

Poultry seller Imran is likewise retrenching on his daily stock, going from 15 kilograms to just 10 kilograms. He started reducing his stock on Monday two weeks ago (6/6) when prices for chicken skyrocketed from Rp 32,000 per kilogram to Rp 38,000 per kilogram.

Imran expressed hope that the price instability is a temporary phenomenon. Otherwise, meat sellers might start reduced income.

Not distributed yet

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said in Klaten, Central Java that the imported frozen beef had not been distributed in his province. Although imported beef sells for Rp 80,000 per kilogram, domestic beef prices are expected to stay above Rp 95,000 per kilogram.

"Yesterday, (the distribution of imported frozen beef) was limited to Jakarta, West Java and Banten, but we're preparing," said the governor.

Demand for beef in Central Java is still met by supply of local beef. Prices of local beef are unlikely to go below Rp 90,000 per kilogram as prices of live cows have already reached Rp 45,000 per kilogram. The Rp 90,000 per kilogram level is the cheapest price level the market can sustain.

"If (local beef) is to be sold below Rp 100,000 per kilogram, prices can go to between Rp 90,000 and Rp 95,000 per kilogram. Otherwise, sellers will incur losses," said Ganjar.

Speaking separately, Suparno, the Boyolali chapter chief of the Indonesian Cow Farmers Association (Aspin), confirmed that the current price for a living cow was Rp 45,000 per kilogram. At that production price, local beef is sold between Rp 100,000 and Rp 110,000 per kilogram.

The large difference between the price of live cows and beef prices comes from the fact that the beef sold in the market accounts for only half of the weight of a living cow.

The market situation in Medan, North Sumatra is no different. The high prices of domestic fresh beef are tamping down the volume of beef sale at Petisah Market in Medan. With beef prices around Rp115,000 per kilogram, some sellers are choosing to close shop to avoid losses.

At Petisah Market, Kompas only saw 6 open stalls, out of 10, selling beef on Wednesday.

Munaji, chief of the Aspin chapter at Flamboyan Market in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, also complained about high beef prices.

"It's hard to lower prices below what they are now, or below Rp 80,000 per kilogram. If prices are high now, they'll get even higher once we get nearer to Idul Fitri," he said.

The current price sellers purchase beef from cow farmers is at Rp 120,000 per kilogram. The price is expected to rise around Lebaran festivity.

Souce: Kompas, Thursday, June 16, 2016

Transaksi Dagang Anjlok

Neraca perdagangan periode Januari hingga Mei tahun ini memang masih mencatatkan surplus US$2,69 miliar dan US$375,6 juta untuk periode Mei. Namun pemerintah perlu mewaspadai tren penurunan ekspor maupun impor sepanjang lima tahun terakhir.

Berdasarkan data Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), ekspor dan impor periode Januari-Mei pada tahun ini ternyata membukukan nilai terendah dalam lima tahun terakhir. Sejak 2012, BPS mencatat nilai ekspor dan impor ternyata terus merosot.

Ekspor migas pada periode Januari-Mei, misalnya, pada tahun ini membukukan nilai US$5,31 miliar melorot 69,04% di bandingkan dengan periode sama 2012 sebesar US$17,15 miliar.

Pada Mei tahun ini, sektor migas kembali membukukan defisit perdagangan—berturut-turut sejak Januari—senilai US$710,7 juta atau tertinggi sejak awal tahun.

Kepala BPS Suryamin menyebutkan surplus neraca perdagangan secara akumulatif pada awal tahun hingga Mei 2016 senilai US$2,69 miliar belum dapat menyamai capaian periode sama tahun lalu sebesar US$3,75 miliar.

“Sebenarnya potensi migas cukup besar untuk menutup surplus, karena kebutuhannya banyak, lifting menurun terus, jadi pasti impor,” ujarnya, Rabu (15/6).

Dia mengakui nilai ekspor Mei 2016 dibandingkan dengan periode sama tahun lalu masih tergerus dengan turun hingga 9,75%. Total nilai ekspor Mei tercatat US$11,51 miliar, sedikit lebih tinggi dari bulan sebelumnya US$11,47 miliar.

Suryamin menyatakan peningkatan ekspor Mei 2016 didorong oleh naiknya ekspor migas sebesar 7,42% menjadi US$957,9 juta, sedangkan ekspor nonmigas turun 0,28% menjadi US$10,53 mi liar.

Peningkatan ekspor migas didorong oleh meningkatnya ekspor minyak mentah sebesar 30,23%, sementara ekspor hasil minyak turun 17,16% dan ekspor gas turun 4,40%.

“Harga minyak mentah Indonesia di pasar dunia naik dari US$37,2 per barel pada April 2016 menjadi US$44,68 per barel pada Mei 2016,” katanya.

Nilai impor Mei 2016 justru naik 2,98% dibandingkan dengan April 2016, tetapi turun 4,12% terhadap Mei 2015. “Kalau secara akumulatif, impor barang konsumsi Januari-Mei 2016 secara year on year naik 14,15%. Ini dugaannya antisipasi pua sa dan lebaran,” ucapnya.

Menteri Koordinator bidang Perekonomian Darmin Nasution menilai perlambatan perekonomian global menyebabkan nilai ekspor terus melorot.

Dia mengatakan neraca perdagangan yang mengalami surplus US$375,6 juta menyimpan sisi negatif karena baik nilai ekspor maupun nilai impor mengalami penurunan. Surplus terjadi karena tingkat penurunan impor lebih besar daripada laju penurunan ekspor.

“Bagusnya dia surplus, Yang tidak bagusnya itu dia ekspornya turun impornya juga turun,” katanya , kemarin.

Senior Economic Analyst Kenta Institute Eric Alexander Sugandi mengatakan penurunan ekspor secara year-on-year karena adanya perlambatan pertumbuhan ekonomi di negara-negara tujuan ekspor Indonesia, terutama di China dan Amerika Serikat.

Ekspor ke China pada Mei 2016 turun 6,18% dengan total US$64,7 juta dan Amerika Serikat turun 4,68% dengan total US$62,8 juta. Penurunan ekspor tertinggi ke negara tujuan India yang turun 9,06% dengan total US$72,4 juta.

“Sementara ekspor migas naik secara month to month lebih karena faktor kenaikan harga walau kenaikan harga ini ter batas,” katanya.

Di sisi lain, turunnya nilai impor secara tahunan disebabkan oleh investasi di dalam negeri yang cenderung melambat.

Secara keseluruhan, dia menilai surplus pada neraca perdagangan (year to date) lebih didorong oleh penurunan im por ketimbang perbaikan kinerja ekspor secara signifikan.

Kebijakan Impor

Direktur Penelitian Center of Reform on Economic (CORE) Indonesia Mohammad Faisal menilai kebijakan impor pemerintah jelas berpengaruh terhadap performa neraca perdagangan. “Tentu saja dampaknya negatif apalagi impornya bahan pangan, barang konsumsi basis sementara impor yang produktif malah turun,” tuturnya.

Menurutnya, pola ini tak sehat untuk perekonomian dalam negeri. Terlebih, dia melihat ketergantungan impor semakin tinggi. Dia memandang pemerintah harus mengubah kebijakan dalam menghadapi gejolak pangan agar hal serupa tak terulang terus-menerus dan memberatkan kinerja ekspor-impor.

Senada, peneliti dari Lembaga Penyelidikan Ekonomi dan Masyarakat (LPEM) Universitas Indonesia I Kadek Dian Sutrisna menilai secara keseluruhan tren menunjukkan impor bahan baku dan modal memang menurun. “Ini mengindikasikan bahwa investasi dan industri belum menunjukkan perkembangan yang berarti,” tuturnya.

Terkait hal tersebut, menurutnya, keberhasilan implementasi paket kebijakan pemerintah akan sangat berperan dalam mendorong investasi yang pada gilirannya menggenjot ekspor sehingga neraca perdagangan membaik.

 

Ketua Asosiasi Pengusaha Indonesia (Apindo) Benny Soetrisno menilai pelaku usaha membutuhkan serangkaian insentif, termasuk insentif fiskal dan ekspor sehingga ekspor manufaktur dengan nilai tambah tinggi bisa terpantik.

Namun, hingga kini pengusaha belum merasakan perbaikan di bidang industri manufaktur. “Masih belum dirasakan. Belum ada kebijakan yang berpihak,” katanya.

disadur dari Bisnis, Kamis, 16 Juni 2016