TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Drought disrupts movement of staple foods

The prolonged drought has disrupted the transportation of staple foods in a number of regions in Mahakam Ulu regency, East Kalimantan, as the long absence of rain has led to a sharp decrease in the level of the Mahakam River between East Kutai and Mahakam Ulu

Novi Abdi (The Jakarta Post)
Balikpapan
Wed, July 29, 2015

Share This Article

Change Size

Drought disrupts movement of staple foods

T

he prolonged drought has disrupted the transportation of staple foods in a number of regions in Mahakam Ulu regency, East Kalimantan, as the long absence of rain has led to a sharp decrease in the level of the Mahakam
River between East Kutai and Mahakam Ulu.

As a result, the prices of staple foods in the regions have risen dramatically, by up to Rp 20,000 (US$1.50) per item.

'€œWhat else can we do? The normal transportation cost is Rp 4 million per trip, but now it has risen Rp 10 million as we have to use more, smaller, boats,'€ said trader Hanyeq Lung of Ujoh Bilang, the regency capital.

During normal conditions, at a cost of Rp 4 million per trip, he could load between 10 and 18 tons of staple foods from Samarinda on board a 15 to 20 gross tons (GT) ship, he said.

It takes two days by ship to reach Ujoh Bilang.

As the dry season has been ongoing for four months, the water level in the Mahakam River in Long Bagun, Mahakam Ulu, has dropped to between 3 and 3.5 meters. During the rainy season it is 6 meters deep, sufficient for a 15 GT ship.

Overland, Long Bagun is about 400 kilometers to the northwest of Balikpapan, the provincial capital of East Kalimantan.

Land transportation between Balikpapan and Ujoh Bilang and Long Bagun is extremely limited. It is a 50-minute flight from Balikpapan to the Ujoh Bilang pioneer airport.

'€œWe unload in Long Bagun to reload on to smaller ships to be further transported to Ujong Bilang. I have to prepare two extra ships to get to Ujoh Bilang,'€ Hanyeq said.

These two ships, he explained, cost Rp 3 million each including for the loading and unloading services.

'€œAs a result I have to sell a pack of instant noodles for Rp 22,000 here,'€ said Hanyeq.

The situation is much worse in the two districts of Long Apari and Long Pahangai, located higher in the Mahakam Ulu'€™s upstream area, right at the border with Sabah, Malaysia.  

Responding to the conditions, acting Mahakam Ulu regent Fredrick Bid said that his administration would help with the distribution of food to people living in the hinterland.

'€œWe also have a program of distributing free staple foods to people living in the border areas,'€ Fredrick said, adding that the foods distributed included rice, cooking oil, sugar, salt and flour.

There are five districts in Mahakam Ulu regency, which was formerly part of West Kutai regency. It was established as a separate regency in 2012. The five districts are Laham, Long Hubung, Long Bagun, Long Pahangai and Long Apari.

Covering an area of 15,315 square ilometers, Mahakam Ulu regency is home to a population of 29,000, of whom 8,780 live in the regency capital.

The regency is rich in natural resources but has poor infrastructure. The main economic activities are harvesting birds'€™ nests, cultivating rice, planting rubber and making a living as fishermen or gold miners.

Fredrick said that limited infrastructure, especially transportation, had meant the regency was unable to transport its products efficiently.

Even if it was capable of doing so, he said, it would not be able to compete with the products from other regions.'€œAt the same time, products from other regions also have difficulties reaching here. When they do get here, the prices are high, like what'€™s happening now,'€ Fredrick said.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.