The objectives of this paper are to measure prices and costs on the supply chains of fresh oranges products. It also qualitatively investigates supply chain bottlenecks and their impact in terms of access toward markets for small producers in rural areas. The analysis of supply-chain bottlenecks is focusing on the breakdown of costs (production, post-harvest, and logistics (transport)) within the supply chain. The location study is in South Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia which is known as one of the largest citrus producer in Indonesia.
The results show that the formation of the price of oranges is formed with the following characteristics: 1) cost at the farm level is made up of costs for production activities and processing activities are not done because orange is sold in the form of raw materials, 2) factors that affect the cost at the trade level is the infrastructure condition, mileage and processes during delivery, and 3) the selling price is determined by the trader in accordance with market demand. Merchants were indicated to have the power to determine the prices are a big trader in Java, with implications for the pricing down to the farm level. The condition of infrastructure is an important aspect in the formation of prices. Badly damaged roads often cause farmers cannot sell their production to other regions because of the high risk of damage to goods due mired vehicles on the road, as well as a long time transporting. Another issue that arises is related to inadequate governance in the Port of Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi which caused the cost of transportation by the port to be expensive. The existence of interests of the parties that play a role in making the port of unloading handling process becomes inefficient. High price made by the association of workers unloading for example, makes the high cost of handling goods. Not to mention the imbalance in the flow of goods in and out of the Port of Kendari, mainly from Java, which caused the vessel operator must take into account the condition of empty when the ship returned in Java. Another condition is a problem with the transport of goods is the last priority given to freight transport compared to passenger transport. This often makes long waiting times at the port, which will affect the transported goods, especially perishables goods such as fruits. Generally this indicates inefficient trading patterns oranges in South Konawe requiring further intervention of the various parties concerned.
Keywords: Sulawesi Citrus; South Konawe; Cost; Price