ABSTRACT

YOSUA ALEXANDER HALOMOAN RITONGA, 2005. The Middleman’s Roles in Potatoes Marketing
System. A case in Sukamanah Village and Local Market of District Pengalengan, District of The sub-
Region of Bandung. Under guidance of Dr. H KUDUS DANASASMITA, Ir, MS and RONNIE SUSMAN
NATAWIDJAJA, Ir., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Middleman is a marketing element that involved in product linking from producers to consumers. One
of inefficient factor which become a problem in marketing element is unseen negotiation process
towards society polemically and resulting bad perceptions to the middleman.

This research made to analyse marketing elements done by the middlemen and their role on potatoes
marketing element, to identify factors influencing farmers in choosing harvest buyer, identifying
factors in setting middlemen price to farmers, calculating and comparing the division in marketing
margin in level of peoples involving in potatoes marketing element.

Case Study Method was used in this research. All respondents chosen are ‘’pure’’ middlemen, in this
situation means middlemen who are focusing their work as middleman without other professions.

Result of this research shows that especially middlemen are doing several elements from marketing
such as buying function, selling function, transportation function, payment function and market’s
information function. There are some factors for farmers on choosing buyer for their harvest products,
such as 1) business relationship, 2) selling price, 3) the existence of middlemen, 4) trust.

To determine potato’s buying price from middleman to farmer, middleman refers to current basic
price. Pricing potatoes at IDR 3,000 per kilogram, middlemen will get profit of IDR 144 per kilogram
with marketing element’s margin of 5.3 %. This research also shows the importance middlemen’s roles
on distributing potatoes from Sukamanah Village-Bandung to end consumers at Kramat Djati Capital
Market-Jakarta.

*middlemen = assemblers