For Sewu Sagar Nusantara, a leading distributor of locally grown and imported fruits in Indonesia, Ramadan provides an opportunity for growth and the company has taken this in stride over the years.
Sewu Sagar Nusantara’s Marketing and Communication Manager, Luthfiany Azwawie says even though they haven’t increased the price of fruit, their sales volume has gone up over the past week and this is expected to continue until the end of the one month fast.
“The consumer spending is slightly higher compared to other months as most Indonesians tend to be a little extravagant during the fasting period, they tend to make more purchases as families usually have sahur – the pre-dawn meal – and iftar – the fast breaking meal – together, with more elaborate menus than in other months,” explains Luthfiany.
However, fresh fruits consumption has nosedived during this period as most people prefer other fruits such as kurma (dates) and bleweh (cantaloupe).
From Luthfiany’s point of view, Indonesians consume a lot of melon cantaloupes which is locally grown and dates which is imported during this period compared to other fruits. “We have also seen a slight increase in pineapple sales but for the other fruits such as kiwis and apples, our sales are the same. We import kiwis and apples from New Zealand and our import volume remains the same as in other months. We received a shipment during the first week of Ramadan, we expect another one in the middle of the fast and the last one ten days before Eid Fitr.
Sales this month on kiwis is showing an uptrend growth. This is perhaps due to the better distribution plan from our sales team and heavy in store and out store marketing activities in several cities," explains Luthfiany.
During the first week of Ramadan the sales slightly went down as retailers close shops whereas most people travel upcountry to be with their families and this is also expected to happen towards the end of the fast as families also travel to celebrate Eid Fitr with relatives and families.
Other fruits likely to be found in the local shelves during this period are bananas and Kolang Kaling (fruit of sugar palm) but melons and dates occupy more space.
Even though the cost of fresh fruits has not changed, Indonesians are the feeling the pinch while purchasing other farm produce such as onions and potatoes as prices have gone up.
“Consumer behavior has been relatively the same for the last two years during the Ramadan period even though the country’s GDP is getting better and the middle class has also gotten more empowered in terms of spending,” explains Luthfiany.
Sewu Sagar Nusantara largely deals in bananas, pineapples, guavas, melons, papayas, kiwis, apples, pears and oranges.
