Life is sweet at height of rambutan season

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the congested roads, record-high temperatures and other seasonal complaints, a wide variety of fruits are available in the city in January.

One of the most popular is rambutan or hairy lychee (Nephelium lappaceum L.).

The bright red spiny fruit is easy to spot at markets and roadside stalls city-wide.

Udin, a vendor at Palmerah market, Central Jakarta, said he sold one-and-a-half kilogram bunches of Rambutan for Rp 5,000 (about 60 US cents).

He sells more than 500 bunches a day.

"Rambutan is a seasonal fruit but it's most people's favorite," said the man who used to sell drinks at Pulo Gadung bus terminal.

He said mangosteen and duku (Lansium domesticum) -- which has a hard brownish outer covering and sweet whitish flesh -- also came into season in January.

"Selling rambutan is more profitable," he said, adding that he made Rp 200,000 a day.

He said he got his rambutan from plantations in Subang and Bekasi, West Java.

"I always make sure the fruit is fresh."

Another rambutan vendor, Oji, had a similar story.

"I make between Rp 150,000 and 200,000 a day."

He said he bought between 700 and 1,000 bunches a day from an orchard in Rangkasbitung, West Java.

"Thank God, I sell out every day."

Duryat, a resident of Kemandoran, West Jakarta, said he bought three bunches of rambutan over the weekend.

"We're going to have a family gathering at my nephew's house upon his return from the haj. I chose rambutan because everybody likes them."

Aside from fruits that are stocked according to the season, a selection of other fruits, like apples and oranges, are available year round.

Some vendors choose to steer clear of seasonal fruits altogether.

Wagiyem, who has a stall at Pasar Minggu market, South Jakarta, for example, sells nothing but oranges, apples, kelengkeng (small lychees) and grapes.

"I like to keep it simple because so many other vendors sell seasonal fruits, like rambutan, nowadays."

She sells oranges, apples, kelengkeng and grapes for Rp 10,000, Rp 12,000, Rp 18,000 and Rp 40,000 per kilogram, respectively.

She said she was afraid of offering more variety because she runs the stall single-handedly.

"I'm not as young as I was, and I work alone," said the 65-year-old.

She said she made about Rp 800,000 a day -- sometimes more.

"But if there are not many buyers, I take home less than Rp 500,000.

"Sometimes I don't even know how much money I make because I spend it straightaway on fruit for the next day," said the woman, who, like most vendors in Pasar Minggu procure their fruit from Kramat Jati wholesale market in East Jakarta.

"We go to the market as a group, in the back of a pickup truck. We don't go every day -- usually every two days is enough."

Buyers reinforce concerns regarding the need to improve the level of quality and consistency of the fruits sold at city markets.

Price is the first consideration of Istiqomah, a resident of Cipinang, East Jakarta.

"I like all kinds of fruit. Really I don't care what I buy, so long as it's cheap," she said while selecting some apples at a stall in Pasar Minggu market.

She said she preferred shopping at traditional markets because she could bargain the prices down.

"I've got a good deal on these apples," she confided.

But a shopper at a fruit store in Pancoran, South Jakarta -- who asked not to be named -- said she hated haggling over prices.

"It's easier to go to the supermarket," she said, adding that vendors in traditional markets routinely marked up their prices.

"Buyers should be alert to the fact that it's easy to deceive them if they don't know the market price," she said, putting a packet of durian in her trolley.

"I always get my fruit from here because it's close to home."

She said she was not particularly sensitive to environment but prioritized convenience.

"Take this durian, for example, I don't have to peel the prickly rind off, I can just eat it."