Bad News From Bukit Tinggi, Sanjai Chips Trader Turns Down 60 Percent During Eid Holidays

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA -Eid Mubarak Holidays 2021 with various restrictions has an impact on decreasing income for food traders of Sanjai chips in Bukittinggi City.

"More than 60 percent decrease in our income during this Eid holiday", said Sanjai chip entrepreneur Januar (45) in Bukittinggi, quoted from Antara, Thursday, May 20.

He was optimistic that sales of Sanjai chips could increase, but due to the regulation on the closure of tourist attractions, his estimates were missed.

However, compared to 2020 at the start of the outbreak, Januar said that the buying and selling power this year is more because at that time Bukittinggi implemented the PSBB (Large-Scale Social Restriction). However, when compared to the years before the pandemic, the current turnover, according to him, has decreased considerably.

"Before the pandemic, we were able to buy and sell up to IDR 20 million per day during the Eid holidays, very far from this Eid, which only earned around IDR 6 million", he said.

Januar is a Sanjai chip entrepreneur who owns a cooking stove and serves wholesale and retail party sales.

According to Januar, there was a decrease in demand even in the amount of bulk because some traders at Pasa Ateh also complained about the lack of visitors during the Eid holiday.

"There are even among our colleagues who do not "break eggs" in Pasa Ateh, hopefully, this condition can change with the reopening of tourist attractions in Bukittinggi since yesterday, Insyaallah", he said.

He added that the selling price of Sanjai chips does not change between weekdays and holidays.

"The most sought after, we still sell regular Sanjai every one kilogram for IDR 30 thousand and Sanjai chips Balado IDR 40 thousand", he said.

Apart from selling directly to buyers in his shop, Januar also often gets orders outside West Sumatra with a package system.

"There is even a shipment of Sanjai packages to Papua whose shipping cost is even three times the price of the chips purchased", he said.

Sanjai chips are a typical souvenir food from the City of Bukittinggi, these snacks are now commonly found in other than local areas such as in Payakumbuh City and Padang City.