Fuel shortages trigger price increases<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Kupang\/Lampung\/Cirebon<\/p>\n
The fuel shortages in some regions lead to increases in the price
\nof premium gasoline on Friday from the usual Rp 2,400 per liter
\nto as much as Rp 15,000 (US$1.57), resulting in knock-on hikes in
\nthe prices of some basic commodities and public transportation
\nfares.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri urged the government on Friday to do its utmost to
\ndeal with the fuel crisis and accept full responsibility for its
\nfailings.<\/p>\n
\"In my view, the government has failed to properly address the
\ncrisis,\" said the former president after opening a conference of
\nthe party's West Java branch in Cirebon. \"The government must
\nwork harder to find a solution.\"<\/p>\n
She said it was the government's responsibility to solve the
\nfuel crisis and the longer it took to do so, the more the public
\nwould suffer.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the prices of basic commodities in the East Nusa
\nTenggara city of Kupang continued to rise, a process that started
\ntwo days previously, as many traders encountered transportation
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
\"A lot of public transportations vehicles are not operating so
\nthat we have to take ojek (motorcycle taxis) to move our goods
\naround, even though it costs us more. To cover these extra costs,
\nwe've had to increase our prices,\" Okto Benu, an egg vendor in
\nPasar Kasih Naikoten 1 market in Kupang, said on Friday.<\/p>\n
On the same day, a bag of 20 eggs was being sold in the market
\nfor Rp 18,000 compared to the usual Rp 13,000, while a 25-
\nkilogram bag of rice was on sale for Rp 90,000, compared to the
\nnormal price of Rp 86,000.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the East Nusa Tenggara governor, Umbu Saga
\nAnakaka, said on Friday that the administration could do little
\nto control the price increases.<\/p>\n
\"The price hikes are taking place because of market
\nconditions. People, especially the traders, are directly affected by
\nthe fuel shortage, so we can't prevent them from increasing their
\nprices,\" Umbu said.<\/p>\n
On the fifth day of the fuel crisis in Kupang, long lines of
\nvehicles were a regular sights at every gas station in the city, while
\npremium gasoline was being sold for between Rp 10,000 and Rp
\n15,000 per liter by roadside vendors, much higher than the
\nofficial price of Rp 2,400 per liter.<\/p>\n
In Lampung province, the price of gasoline has risen to up to
\nRp 10,000 per liter, especially outside the provincial capital,
\nBandarlampung. In towns such as Liwa and Krui in West Lampung,
\nwhich are some 300 kilometers away from Bandarlampung, the price
\nof premium had risen to Rp 12,000 per liter on Friday.<\/p>\n
The increasing fuel price have also affected the prices of
\nsome basic commodities and public transportation fares.<\/p>\n
At the Tamin central market, a kilogram of chili peppers was
\nbeing sold for Rp 12,500 on Friday, compared to the normal price
\nof Rp 7,000, while onions were on offer for Rp 6,000 a kilogram,
\ncompared to the usual Rp 2,000.<\/p>\n
One trader, 50-year-old Sulasmi, said that prices had gone up
\ndue to a shortage of supplies. She also said that over the last
\nfive days fewer customers had been coming out to shop as a result
\nof the higher public transport fares.<\/p>\n
Marsidi, a public transportation driver on the Tanjungkarang-
\nRajabasa route, said he now had to wait up to three hours to buy
\ngasoline at official gas stations as he could not afford to buy
\nit from sidewalk vendors.<\/p>\n
\"It's very expensive buying it from the vendors. Besides, it's
\nquite possible the gas will have been adulterated (with
\nkerosene), and that's no good for the engine,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In order to earn enough, he has had to raise his fares from
\nthe usual Rp 1,200 to Rp 2,000 per person. \"This has got me into
\na lot of arguments with the passengers,\" Marsidi said.<\/p>\n
Waljianto, the manager of PT Pertamina's marketing unit in the
\nPanjang, Bandarlampung, put the blame for the crisis on panic
\nbuying.<\/p>\n
\"The long lines at all the gas stations here over the last
\nthree days have been the result of people panicking, while in
\nfact the gasoline supply in Lampung is already back to normal, at
\n900,000 liters per day for the last three days,\" Waljianto said.<\/p>\n
He said that he was working with the police to prevent the
\nhoarding of gas and its adulteration with diesel or kerosene.<\/p>",
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