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.
Retail association urges govt to lift alcohol ban in minimarkets
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Customs and Excise officers destroy illegally-imported alcoholic beverages in Surabaya, East Java. (Antara/Moch Asim)
T
he Indonesia Retail Association (Aprindo) is urging the government to lift a ban on alcohol sales from minimarkets amid slowing retail sales growth.
The latest data from Nielsen shows that minimarket sales from 113 product categories grew by 8.7 percent in the January to May period this year, a contrast from the 19.8 percent increase in sales during the same period last year.
Alcohol, banned in minimarkets since 2015, contributed roughly 11 percent to minimarket sales, according to Aprindo.
Aprindo chairman Roy Mandey said there were three consequences of continuing the ban.
First, the ban proves that the government is not accommodating globalized modern trade.
Second, it is not accommodating consumer demand.
Third, it is fuelling an expansion in the black market, with people selling drinks in cars or in makeshift tents.
"Instead of giving a chance to the tax-free black market, it is better to allow sales in shops that pay taxes,” Roy said as quoted by Kompas.com on Monday.
Furthermore, the ban is bad for beer and alcohol producers. These producers might move from Indonesia to other more welcoming countries, he claimed. (rbk/bbn)
