Essential goods: Shoppers line up to pay at a supermarket in BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday
ssential goods: Shoppers line up to pay at a supermarket in BSD City, Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday. The supermarket, which is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., has seen a steady flow of customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
Amanda, a 33-year-old creative consultant, has bought a month’s worth of groceries in advance so she can stay home, as advised by the government, without having to worry about her family’s basic needs.
“I used to buy food supplies every one or two weeks. Now I buy one month’s stock,” said the mother of one. “I bought three bags of 5-kilogram rice, whereas I normally only buy one bag, so I don’t go back and forth shopping. Plus, now that we are staying home, we are using up more food.”
Apart from rice, Amanda, who lives in South Jakarta, also stocks up on cooking oil, chicken, chili, vegetables, as well as hygiene products, more than ever. “Now I shop extra for hygiene products, such as anti-bacterial soap. Normally I would buy any soap. I stock up extra on hand soap as well, so it is available at all washing stations at home. Tissue, detergents, cleaning liquid — I buy more than normal.”
Amanda’s story mirrors the shift in Indonesian consumers’ behavior as markets across Indonesia see an uptick in demand for hygiene products, although staple food availability remains safe as people purchase supplies to last a longer period to follow the universal health advise of staying home.
Indonesia declared a public health emergency over COVID-19 on Tuesday, imposing large-scale social restrictions, as COVID-19 cases soared within a month from zero to 1,790, with 170 dead, the largest death toll in Southeast Asia and among the highest death rates in the world.
Publicly listed retailer PT Sumber Alfaria Trijaya — which operates 14,310 Alfamart stores across Indonesia — and PT Mitra Adiperkasa (MAP) — the operator of FoodHall — said the companies were having difficulty stocking up on certain items such as masks and hand sanitizer. However, both assured they had enough stock of primary items such as staple foods.
“We think this will last for quite some time before getting back to normal as people are rushing to buy these items,” Sumber Alfaria director S. Peter Suryadi said in a company statement. Alfamart stores are prepared for a lockdown scenario that could limit its business operations, he added.
“We met with [staple needs] producers and suppliers a few days ago, and they are committed to producing their products at full speed for the market,” MAP spokesperson Ratih Gianda told The Jakarta Post.
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has called on vendors to limit purchases especially for products in shortage but highly needed, especially masks. Panic buying has hit supermarkets across Indonesia which could hurt stockpiles and inflate prices, with most purchases of masks, hygiene products and food.
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