Weakening IDR

I met some employees from central Bank Indonesia in my hotel in Labuang Bajo. They are setting up a data analyse project on some economic data. He said that there are signs of deflation going on in Indonesia.

I am not suprised: the limit is reached for people lending money "terusss". Wages still too low. And a lot of people losing money on gambling apps.

Btw he also said the denomination of the rupiah is still "blurred". Not my words.

The introduction of the e-Rupiah also. Depends on the new government. Not my words.
 
Since the Donald Trump election, the euro has fallen the European currency from an exchange rate from $ 1.08 to $ 1.05 per euro.

The current level could for the time being the new normal for the EuroDollar rate, thinks Stefan Koopman of bank Rabo Research, which is now based on $ 1.05 in his estimates, but sees the European currency sinking to $ 1.03 in the coming twelve months. "It is a reflection of the difference in the monetary policy of the European Central Bank in relation to the US Central Bank and the import tariffs that Trump has announced," he says.
According to the economist, the negative effects of import tariffs on world trade and the demand for European goods will ensure that inflation in Europe will decrease rather than increase.
He sees the same effect in coins of other economies that Trump has in sight, such as the Chinese Yuan, the Mexican peso and the Japanese yen, while according to him the opposite happens through Trumps policy in the United States. "Due to the high dollar rate, American export goods are becoming more expensive, while he wants to do something about the American shortage on the trade balance. In the end that results in tension. The question is how he reacts to that again. "
 
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Jakarta Post today ..

Trump, widely seen as uninterested in ASEAN and preferring transactional, bilateral deals, will likely showcase similar tendencies during his second period, speakers at the Monday discussion said. The Foreign Ministry estimates slower economic growth across Asia for the 2025-2026 period, including a 0.3 percentage point decline from initial projections for Indonesia, as the region anticipates more US scrutiny and higher tariffs.
 

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As someone with most reserves in USD, I look forward to 17,000 or higher exchange rates.
 
Jakarta Post today ..

Trump, widely seen as uninterested in ASEAN and preferring transactional, bilateral deals, will likely showcase similar tendencies during his second period, speakers at the Monday discussion said. The Foreign Ministry estimates slower economic growth across Asia for the 2025-2026 period, including a 0.3 percentage point decline from initial projections for Indonesia, as the region anticipates more US scrutiny and higher tariffs.
Time for Indonesia to taste its own medicine.
Indonesia is extensivelly using tarrifs and non-tarrif barriers, now can see & experience how it looks like when US uses them.
 
Time for Indonesia to taste its own medicine.
Indonesia is extensivelly using tarrifs and non-tarrif barriers, now can see & experience how it looks like when US uses them.
I agree, just look at the ridiculous import duty on bringing your own Smart phone in the country, or the cost of beef coming from Australia. It's not that far away to cost IDR. 800,000 for a small steak! L
Also the cost of sending a letter with Fed-EX $100
 
As someone with most reserves in USD, I look forward to 17,000 or higher exchange rates.
As someone making monthly transfers to my kids in the US, I would prefer 14,000 or lower exchange rates.
 
As someone making monthly transfers to my kids in the US, I would prefer 14,000 or lower exchange rates.

I'm not sure whether happy or not, i'm paid in USD (or Euro), and living in the cheapest area in Bali, and I'm Indonesian.

C'est la vie - life goes on and let enjoy the life

I agree, just look at the ridiculous import duty on bringing your own Smart phone in the country, or the cost of beef coming from Australia. It's not that far away to cost IDR. 800,000 for a small steak! L
Also the cost of sending a letter with Fed-EX $100
This one, I'm happy with my 4-years old made in China cheapo vivo (though the apps/software in my phone cost me more than Iphone) - no body complain having phone call with me, It fulfill all my need.

I'm also happy with Rp. 10,000 nasi jinggo bungkus, enjoyed Rp. 15,000 bubur ayam or Rp. 24,000 nice beef rendang, although last weekend we (with wife) had no regret to spend almost Rp. 2M for nice steaks in Denpasar, which much cheaper than what we spent for 2 steaks at jeff Ruby steakhouse Cincinnati sometime ago; and yesterday spent Rp. 15M for two frangipanis trees planted in our garden.

C'est la vie - life goes on and let enjoy the life

Time for Indonesia to taste its own medicine.
Indonesia is extensivelly using tarrifs and non-tarrif barriers, now can see & experience how it looks like when US uses them.
a small disturbance that will soon reach the equilibrium point - not the worst we experienced.
this morning just sitting and talking with my penyakap and other few farmers in warung tuak, they dont even care with Mr. Trump and ibu Sri Mulyani, we more concern with rats in our rice paddy field - so we'are planning to have Ngaben Tikus soon,

C'est la vie - life goes on and let enjoy the life

one more, to day is Friday - free lunch for my workers, wife is ordering very spicy Nasi Ayam Taliwang. and I'm 100% sure they will like it more than perfectly cooked tomahawk steak.
 
I'm not sure whether happy or not, i'm paid in USD (or Euro), and living in the cheapest area in Bali, and I'm Indonesian.

C'est la vie - life goes on and let enjoy the life


This one, I'm happy with my 4-years old made in China cheapo vivo (though the apps/software in my phone cost me more than Iphone) - no body complain having phone call with me, It fulfill all my need.

I'm also happy with Rp. 10,000 nasi jinggo bungkus, enjoyed Rp. 15,000 bubur ayam or Rp. 24,000 nice beef rendang, although last weekend we (with wife) had no regret to spend almost Rp. 2M for nice steaks in Denpasar, which much cheaper than what we spent for 2 steaks at jeff Ruby steakhouse Cincinnati sometime ago; and yesterday spent Rp. 15M for two frangipanis trees planted in our garden.

C'est la vie - life goes on and let enjoy the life


a small disturbance that will soon reach the equilibrium point - not the worst we experienced.
this morning just sitting and talking with my penyakap and other few farmers in warung tuak, they dont even care with Mr. Trump and ibu Sri Mulyani, we more concern with rats in our rice paddy field - so we'are planning to have Ngaben Tikus soon,

C'est la vie - life goes on and let enjoy the life

one more, to day is Friday - free lunch for my workers, wife is ordering very spicy Nasi Ayam Taliwang. and I'm 100% sure they will like it more than perfectly cooked tomahawk steak.
I don't understand why quality beef is so expensive here? In California, I could buy nice quality Rib-Eye, New York strip steak, for less than $20. And cook it myself. At the prices here for a nice steak, it would make the cost of a single cow, thousands of dollars for all the meat on it. Someone is making some serious profit. I don't even want to mention the outrageous cost of Wagyu beef. I don't know but it looks delicious, but I just can't justify paying so much money for a piece of meat. It's as much as Gold!
 
I don't understand why quality beef is so expensive here? In California, I could buy nice quality Rib-Eye, New York strip steak, for less than $20. And cook it myself. At the prices here for a nice steak, it would make the cost of a single cow, thousands of dollars for all the meat on it. Someone is making some serious profit. I don't even want to mention the outrageous cost of Wagyu beef. I don't know but it looks delicious, but I just can't justify paying so much money for a piece of meat. It's as much as Gold!
I dont know, it;s not my expertise, but I believe Mr. @atlantis knows much better about F&B bussiness in Indonesia more than anyone here. Hopefully he will chime
What I know:
Indomie is very expensive in USA, tofu price is 1000% more expensive in kazakstan; tempe did not exist in kazakhstan, then to satisfy my tempe need, we spent hundreds dollars for special box with humidifier to make our own tempe, my daughter also told me how expensive tempe in london;

and here in Indonesia, i have plenty of choices from Rp. 20k beef rendang in warung or Rp. 80K beef rendang in lovely restaurant in Jakarta, Rp. 80 -125K extra well-done bistik, (most) indonesian favourite steaks specially if add with 100 gram ABC chilly sauce, and occasionally spend more than Rp. 1m for good steak- without whining and comparing with 50 portion of nice nasi bungkus rendang ayam. All good,
 
I don't understand why quality beef is so expensive here? In California, I could buy nice quality Rib-Eye, New York strip steak, for less than $20. And cook it myself. At the prices here for a nice steak, it would make the cost of a single cow, thousands of dollars for all the meat on it. Someone is making some serious profit. I don't even want to mention the outrageous cost of Wagyu beef. I don't know but it looks delicious, but I just can't justify paying so much money for a piece of meat. It's as much as Gold!

From what I’ve heard from friends, the beef cuts used for steaks in Indonesia are mostly imported, primarily from Australia due to its proximity. The same goes for Wagyu beef, which mainly comes from Japan. Since these meats are imported, they are likely frozen, which can affect the tenderness and flavour compared to fresh, never-frozen beef. Also, it might be they imported an inferior quality beef which is difficult to be sold in their country of origin without a heavy discount.

I am not entirely sure if it's really that expensive (relative comparison to other countries).It took me less than a minute to find this on Tokopedia.

Ribeye.jpg
 
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From what I’ve heard from friends, the beef cuts used for steaks in Indonesia are mostly imported, primarily from Australia due to its proximity. The same goes for Wagyu beef, which mainly comes from Japan. Since these meats are imported, they are likely frozen, which can affect the tenderness and flavor compared to fresh, never-frozen beef.

I'm not entirely sure if it's really that expensive (relative comparison to other countries). It took me less than a minute to find this on Tokopedia.

View attachment 4457
These are unbelievable prices, after looking at the supermarkets here. Pepito's, Grand Lucky, Delta Dewata, Bitang. Something has to be wrong. If someone on this forum has bought these for these prices and were satisfied, please tell us?
 
These are unbelievable prices, after looking at the supermarkets here. Pepito's, Grand Lucky, Delta Dewata, Bitang. Something has to be wrong. If someone on this forum has bought these for these prices and were satisfied, please tell us?
Can't speak for these specific sellers but I buy Indoneisan sirloin in the local market for around 160k per kg that is decent and pre cut, frozen wagyu steaks for 60k per 250 gram that are excellent. These prices seem to be inline with what I see around. Can't shop in the big supermarkets and expect the best prices when it comes to meat, vegetables and fruits. Might be the best place to buy some imported sauce but not for day to day items.
 
... I am not entirely sure if it's really that expensive ...
Yes , it is not expensive . Prices for a good quality meat start from around Rp120'000 per kilo . Australian beef starts from around Rp180'000 per kilo .
Usually frozen , so we need to find a vendor nearby to deliver the "instant" way (few min. by motorcycle) .
 
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These are unbelievable prices, after looking at the supermarkets here. Pepito's, Grand Lucky, Delta Dewata, Bitang. Something has to be wrong. If someone on this forum has bought these for these prices and were satisfied, please tell us?
Imported stuff will always be expensive. Same all over SEA (except HKG and maybe SGP, because low taxation)
And of course Grand Lucky and Popular are not the cheapest retailers ! But it is were I do 80% of my grocery shopping because I can find everything under one roof, specially imported stuff.
You can save some money with buying fruit and vegetables at local markets, but I consider it's not worth it. Those products represent maybe 10 / 15% maximum of my food expenses.
 
What are you expecting from your beef buying? There are many grades of beef that are imported. I only buy local beef for rendang or a few sauced based dishes. Gotta cook the piss (and flavor) out of it to get it tender enough to chew. Local beef lack the fat or marbling that gives beef it's flavor andvtenderness. Local beef meaning domestically raised or imported on the hoof from Australia or wherever else they get live cattle from. Those lose a lot of weight in transport and their fattening time here is short and done the cheapest way possible.

Australia has anywhere from cheaper grass fed cattle to the more feed lot cattle. Australia grades meat but their problem is that each meat production plant grades their own product. The grass fed beef is pretty reasonable and when you get up to the "grade A" it starts to get pretty costly.

As for US beef. I found that it takes close examination to check to see what you are actually getting compared to what they call it and charge for it. Many larger retailers and some wholesalers state"Prime" US beef. I know better than that. Most upon examination is maybe Choice at best. Not to mention that Prime graded, by government standards by government inspectors is only 1% of the US beef production and that is hardly ever exported except for a bit to Japan and then only as hanging tenderloins in hard chill containers to start the aging process.

You can also find beef from Brazil here and those are normally the better grades. The beef is good and many times I think it is more flavorful than the US beef.

Japanese beef is only the highest grades of wagu. Expensive for sure as is Kobe beef. I have never seen any other so called wagu that comes close to the Japanese version. Anything produced locally is no where close to wagu. I think if the cut has some marbling it must be wagu.

When I buy imported beef I only buy full cuts in kryovac. I cut my own meat. I have never found anyone here who has a clue as to how to cut meat. I question if they are butchers or chunkers. Most imported arrives frozen and they think just slicing it up in a bandsaw is all that is needed.

You can cook local beef and make it taste and chew like imported but you really need to take the time and put in the work to do so. Still, better to pay just a little more and start with Australian grass fed. That has the most flavor if all of them.

Price? Remember this stuff comes in a freezer container that has to have running refrigeration the entire trip and in the ports. Freight is paid by weight and if you have a 20 foot container you may have up to 15,000 pounds on it. Then local storage and if course a bit for the government.

I am still waiting for someone to explain why a US turkey that would sell for 8 dollars in the US cost 1,5 just here even taking in all the expense to get here.
 
What are you expecting from your beef buying? There are many grades of beef that are imported. I only buy local beef for rendang or a few sauced based dishes. Gotta cook the piss (and flavor) out of it to get it tender enough to chew. Local beef lack the fat or marbling that gives beef it's flavor andvtenderness. Local beef meaning domestically raised or imported on the hoof from Australia or wherever else they get live cattle from. Those lose a lot of weight in transport and their fattening time here is short and done the cheapest way possible.

Australia has anywhere from cheaper grass fed cattle to the more feed lot cattle. Australia grades meat but their problem is that each meat production plant grades their own product. The grass fed beef is pretty reasonable and when you get up to the "grade A" it starts to get pretty costly.

As for US beef. I found that it takes close examination to check to see what you are actually getting compared to what they call it and charge for it. Many larger retailers and some wholesalers state"Prime" US beef. I know better than that. Most upon examination is maybe Choice at best. Not to mention that Prime graded, by government standards by government inspectors is only 1% of the US beef production and that is hardly ever exported except for a bit to Japan and then only as hanging tenderloins in hard chill containers to start the aging process.

You can also find beef from Brazil here and those are normally the better grades. The beef is good and many times I think it is more flavorful than the US beef.

Japanese beef is only the highest grades of wagu. Expensive for sure as is Kobe beef. I have never seen any other so called wagu that comes close to the Japanese version. Anything produced locally is no where close to wagu. I think if the cut has some marbling it must be wagu.

When I buy imported beef I only buy full cuts in kryovac. I cut my own meat. I have never found anyone here who has a clue as to how to cut meat. I question if they are butchers or chunkers. Most imported arrives frozen and they think just slicing it up in a bandsaw is all that is needed.

You can cook local beef and make it taste and chew like imported but you really need to take the time and put in the work to do so. Still, better to pay just a little more and start with Australian grass fed. That has the most flavor if all of them.

Price? Remember this stuff comes in a freezer container that has to have running refrigeration the entire trip and in the ports. Freight is paid by weight and if you have a 20 foot container you may have up to 15,000 pounds on it. Then local storage and if course a bit for the government.

I am still waiting for someone to explain why a US turkey that would sell for 8 dollars in the US cost 1,5 just here even taking in all the expense to get here.
You are right about cooking the local beef for hours to tenderize it. Sure the beef coming from Australia has to be refrigerated in containers, but Australia is not far from here. I still don't understand why a small steak can cost upwards of IDR. 800,000? The same as the Turkey. Someone along the shipping line is making a huge profit. It just ain't right!
 
at least once a month we visit Grand Lucky either in Sanur or Udayana, an epic trip with dozens or maybe hundreds of times performing deadly maneuvers to overtake trucks moving like turtles and then "waste" few million rupiahs for expensive and something wrong stuffs. we purchased 2 pack of "cheap" Australian Wagyu beef cuts less than half kilo for more than Rp. 500K, a pack (500g) Saiporo Now (local) wagyu beef for Rp. 142K, Rp. 50K for small pack of tiny baby green bean, and Rp.100K for 100g stinky ugly blue cheese, then few days later we spent less than Rp. 500K for more than 4 kg local sirloin and Rp. 10K for a kg of very fresh fat green bean and with less than a buck for big chunk of tempe, in local market.

And another stupid thing, I dont try to understand why with the money I spent in Grand Lucky I can use to by a truck of krupuk to satisfy all my kampung neighborhood.
 

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