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Abstention from eating bumps up food budget
For Untari, 40, a resident of Pondok Gede, Bekasi, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan means a greater budget allocation for meals
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For Untari, 40, a resident of Pondok Gede, Bekasi, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan means a greater budget allocation for meals.
“My husband and sons love to eat rendang [meat simmered in spices and coconut milk],” the mother of two and elementary school teacher said Wednesday.
“I cook them their favorite food, as a reward for their willingness to fast during Ramadan.”
Fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan is one of the five basic tenets of Islam.
Although almost all Muslims know the values behind Ramadan, it is common to see more and more people become more consumptive during the holy month.
Assuming all the country’s Muslims fast, then logically the demand for food should be at its lowest level of the year.
This isn’t the case, however.
A survey conducted last week by the Kompas daily shows most families in the 10 biggest cities in Indonesia spend more on food during the fasting month, which this year started on Aug. 22.
Of the 645 respondents who said they and their family would fast, more than 60 percent said they would buy more vegetables, fruit, snacks and side dishes during Ramadan.
University of Indonesia economist Sonny Harry Harmadi said the upward trend was normal.
“Psychologically during the fasting month, people, rich and poor alike, will think about consuming more nutritious food to sustain them throughout the day,” he said.
“So when the prices go up, they think of it as normal, because it happens year after year.”
With more and more people allocating more money for food, economists estimate the prices of staple foods rise by between 5 and 10 percent each Ramadan.
Masykuri Abdillah, a chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s largest Islamic organization, agreed that to some extent consuming more nutritious food would help Muslims fasting more religiously.
However, he cautioned on the need for moderation.
“One of the essences of fasting for every Muslim is to control greed,” he said.
“If they let themselves eat too much at the end of the day, they won’t learn anything from their fast.”
Mutiara Rasyidah, 24, who lives with her parents in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, said her mother would cook a veritable smorgasbord if her siblings, who have since moved out, came over.
