Each of them received 1.5 kilogram of beef from the Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) in connection with the local tradition of "Meugang", which is a day of slaughter and beef consumption before the fasting month of Ramadhan.
The Aceh chapter of PWI that bought three bulls and slaughtered them during the Meugang tradition function this year, distributed the beef to 220 recipients, the Aceh PWI chairman Tarmilin Usman said.
The 1.5 kilogram of beef was at least worth Rp150 thousand if cashed, but it is not the aim of the local PWI management to calculate its contribution in the economic value.
As a local tradition during the moment of Meugang, the most important point is how to strengthen the silaturrahim (the bonds of friendship) among the PWI members and their families, while helping one another, according to Tarmilin.
"So, it is not the matter of much or less of the beef contribution value during this Meugang moment, but it implies several meanings that the most important one is the sense of togetherness and friendship among the Aceh PWI members, their families and widows," he said.
The local PWI personnel especially in Banda Aceh municipality and Aceh Besar district in the most-western province has conducted such Meugang tradition since many years ago.
The Meugang tradition seemingly has triggered the beef price in Banda Aceh and its environs that rose sharply before the fasting month of Ramadan 1433 Hijriah (2012), namely from Rp80,000 to Rp120,000 per kilogram in the run up to the local tradition.
The soaring price of beef has caused Ms Hamamah, one of the beef buyers hailing from Ajun village in the Peukan Bada sub-district of Banda Aceh municipality to complain.
The Meugang traditions have been inherited by the ancestors of the Acehnese culture and are known to be conducted a day before the fasting month of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri, which marks the end of the Ramadhan.
Despite the decline in the purchasing power of part of the local people this year, the prices of beef and buffalo meat were still high during the Meugang season, with prices ranging from Rp100,000 to Rp120,000 per kilogram.
The beef in Banda Aceh is more expensive compared with that in Bengkulu that rose up to as high as Rp85,000 per kilogram, said Idrus, a resident of Pagar Dewa in the Selebar sub-district of Bengkulu.
Meanwhile in Pangkalpinang, which is the provincial capital of Bangka-Belitung, the beef price rose from Rp70,000 to Rp80,000 per kilogram.
In Garut, West Java province, beef prices reached as high as Rp80,000 a day before Ramadhan, rising from its regular price of Rp65,000 per kilogram.
In Sarolangun district of the Jambi province, the beef price reached Rp90,000 per kilogram from a previous high of Rp70,000 per kilogram.
In addition, the beef price in Bukittinggi traditional markets of Pasar Atas, Pasar Bawah and Pasar Aur Kuning on the first day of Ramadhan reached Rp90 thousand per kilogram or sharply rose from the normal price of Rp60 thousand per kg.
According to Syahrial, one of the burchers in Pasar Atas, the soaring price of beef occurred owing to the high demand.
In Pasaman Barat, West Sumatra, the price of one kilogram of beef also reached Rp90 thousand or was up from the previous normal price of Rp60 thousand.
Apart from that, Ms Maryati, one of buyers in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) said here on Sunday that the price of beef on the second day of Ramadhan reached Rp85 thousand per kilogram or increased from the previous days of Rp75 thousand per kilogram.
However, the modern Giant Mega Bekasi Hypermal in West Java or the eastern outskirts of Jakarta is selling one kilogram of beef only for Rp54 thousand compared with around Rp85 thousand per kilogram in other regions of the country.
"We can lower the selling price of beef from Rp85 thousand to Rp54 thousand per kilogram during the fasting month of Ramadhan," the Giant Hypermal Bekasi manager, Jajang Yuliadi said here on Sunday.
This kind of sale strategy has attracted many buyers with most of them buying up beef.
"The demand for beef rose up to 60 percent," Jajang said.
According to him, the Hypermal`s beef stock which reached four tons is now running out.
Normally, four tons of beef stocks are enough for two or three weeks of supply, he said.
Jajang pointed out that many people bought beef for making Rendang (meat simmered in spices and coconut milk), which is especially consumed by Muslims for night meal or fast breaking.
Regarding the lower price of beef in the Bekasi Hypermal, Ms Evi (42) one of the buyers said she did not think that the beef price can drop significantly amid the soaring price in other regions.
Whether or not Ms Evi is one of the rich, but she bought ten kilograms of beef in the Hypermal at the moment for her family`s need in the early days of the Ramadhan. *
(B003)
(U.SYS/A/B003/A/A014) 22-07-2012 18:53:53
Reporter: Bustanuddin
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
