Indonesia: Beer allowed in Jakarta’s minimarts again

Good news for those who love beer and live in Jakarta. About one year after Indonesia announced it had banned sales of alcoholic beverages in minimarkets and kiosks - a move conducted to "protect the morals and culture of Indonesian society" - Jakarta Governor Basuki Purnama Tjahja (Ahok) said alcoholic beverages with alcohol content up to five percent (which includes beer) will again be available in the capital city's minimarkets, the small retailers that have mushroomed across the city streets, Indonesia Investments reported on May 26.

However, the ban (stipulated by Trade Regulation No. 06/M-DAG/PER/1/2015 on the Control and Supervision of Procurement, Distribution, and Sale of Alcoholic Beverages) remains in place in all other parts of the country, Indonesian Trade Minister Thomas Lembong confirmed. In April 2015 the Indonesian government implemented the ban on sales of alcoholic beverages in all minimarkets and kiosks. As these small retailers have mushroomed across Indonesia's urban regions, it had become very easy - including for schoolchildren - to purchase a light alcoholic beverage. However, in the larger (and licensed) supermarkets and hypermarkets alcoholic drinks remained available. But, as the number of these larger supermarkets is limited, it became much more difficult to purchase alcoholic beverages or - if consumed in restaurants, hotels or cafes - it became much more expensive.

Obviously, the nation's brewers such as Multi Bintang Indonesia and Delta Djakarta objected to the ban as it would limit companies' sales of light alcoholic drinks. Therefore, they started to adjust their corporate strategies and started to focus more on alcohol-free beer.

In the predominantly Muslim country, consumption of alcohol is generally regarded a negative matter (in Islamic doctrine the consumption of intoxicants, which includes alcohol, is basically forbidden, or haram). However, consumption of beer had actually risen in the years prior to the ban, particularly in the urban areas (increasingly becoming part of the modern urban lifestyle). This is also possible because there are millions of nominal Muslims in Indonesia (who do not strictly follow Islamic principles).

If beer indeed returns to the shelves of the minimarts across Jakarta, then it would be a major setback for the beer delivery service. Several creative youngsters opened beer delivery services after the ban on sales of alcohol in minimarts was implemented in April 2015. These delivery services, engaging in deals with local beer distributors, bring beer and other alcoholic drinks to the consumer either by using their own means of transportation (usually a motorcycle) or - if the service does not have a fleet of motorcycles - it uses the service provided by Go-Jek, a motorcycle taxi ordered through an online application on the smartphone.

26 May, 2016