During Chinese New Year in Indonesia, does a jin of eggs cost one hundred New Taiwan dollars?

Farm Prices Soaring Before the New Year

Last Monday (8/19) was Indonesia's annual New Year celebration. My Indonesian friend Ati said: every year before the New Year, farm prices in Indonesia soar, rising even higher than in Taiwan. Curious, I casually asked him: how expensive? He said: "Before this year's New Year, a jin of eggs had risen to 100 Taiwan dollars per jin." Hearing that, I nearly spat out the chewing gum in my mouth. I thought to myself, Indonesia's per capita income is not high, so how could farm prices be so expensive?

Hoarding by Middlemen

In previous years' New Year periods, egg prices would soar to 60 Taiwan dollars per jin, nearly twice as expensive as ordinary eggs in Taiwan, and this is all caused by middlemen, Ati said indignantly. He went on to say: when prices keep soaring, merchants hoard large amounts of goods; shopkeepers tell us there is no stock, but actually there is a huge pile of goods in the warehouse behind. A few years ago, they even clashed with merchants over this, setting fire to shops and seizing hoarded goods. After I asked him about the prices of many agricultural products on ordinary days, I found that agricultural prices in Indonesia really are not cheap. I thought to myself that, besides middlemen, the fact that they practice relatively extensive agriculture, with yields per unit area or yield density far lower than in Taiwan, could also be a major reason for the high prices.

The Agricultural Economy of Apps

Traditional low-density farming methods may not use a lot of growth hormones or pesticides, and agricultural products may be healthier, so I cannot criticize that part. Perhaps many domestic experts in natural farming with higher yield density can help, but I am very interested in introducing innovative business models to deal with middlemen! Ati uses a smartphone, and in many economically undeveloped countries, mobile phone penetration is far higher than landline phones, for example in rural India.

I told him that now, for just 300 Taiwan dollars a month, you can use your phone to find out, within a 5~20km radius of your home in Indonesia, who is producing the agricultural products you want, and you can go yourself or gather nearby villagers to buy together, sharing the fuel and transport costs, so there is no need to buy from merchants. He happily and curiously asked me, really? I just smiled and replied: wait until you go back to Indonesia in 2 years, and you will know~~~~