Dollar Up, Rattan Stay

One of Rattan’s Stakeholder, so it called as collectors. The collector’s task is to buy rattan from farmers and then resell it to wholesalers in the city of Banjarmasin, or Samarinda for the raw rattan that came from Kedang Pahu River region, West Kutai, East Kalimantan. Since 2005, rattan collectors in West Kutai could make a transaction directly with overseas buyers, such as buyers from China.

Johan (63 years) is one of big rattan collector in the district of Kutai Barat. Since '80s era, collectors and the owner of three large rattan’s warehouse in Samarinda and Kutai Barat, and he has been involved with rattan trade.

"I've been spent whole of my life in this business. Since the price of rattan reach one dollar a kilogram (in the 80s one U.S. dollar is still equals with a thousand rupiah-red). Now the raise of dollar did not followed by the price of rattan. It’s still one thousand a kilo, the dollar itself was nearly 10 thousand rupiah," said Johan in his rattan barn, in the sub district of Damai, Sendawar (22 / 3).

The collapses of Rattan business and prices according to Johan because of several things, whic are; the failure of regeneration, that can be seen as a reduction in youth farm workers to take the rattan in their field, deliverable raw rattan processing cost keep increases and more expensive time to time, both official and unofficial levies in the delivery of rattan are still happened.

"All rattan is planted dan cultivated here. The governments even though they are our own people, could be analogued as “oranges eat oranges (each other)”. A rule about the levy is still valid despite of many times the deletion proposal. Still, there are 13 charges post existed," Johan complained about the situation of a stagnant government policy in respect of tax levies and permits to transport rattan from warehouse to outside of the district.

From other case with John (44 years), Executive Chairman of P3R (Union of Rattan Farmers and Collectors) in Damai Seberang says, "It was two times that the fuel price raised during Megawati era, and once in SBY era, rattan farmers and collectors now is unwilling to do rattan business anymore. The Cost become more expensive from time to time, but the price keep at its place. Lots of farmers than switch to be oil workers."

The absence of policy change on the levy tariffs and transport permit are also complained by Sahadi, Multi-finance Division Head of Forest Products Management, Forest Service of West Kutai-Sendawar. Forest Service officer who are a former of NGOs activist in Samarinda is complaining about the absence of synchronization between the Department of Commerce's policy change with the Ministry of Forestry, "In 2005, rattan tax-charge could reach zero percent, they are easily exported. But now, it’s not that easy anymore. We (Forest Service) have proposals to the Central Government, rattan in Kubar is cultivated and they are not in the forest area, so there is no need to take charges on them."

more about rattan: http://en.kpshk.org/

Posted under real circumstance, source will be published and will not claimed as its own writing