Kerosene shortage hits W. Java<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Kerosene shortages have spread to Bandung and neighboring
\ncities in West Java following last week's Idul Fitri holidays,
\ncausing the fuel's price to increase by up to 200 percent per
\nliter.<\/p>\n
The worst affected towns include Tasikmalaya, Garut, Sumedang,
\nSukabumi, Ciamis and Bandung, where kerosene has been sold at
\nbetween Rp 1,000 and Rp 1,500 per liter. The official price is
\nonly Rp 550 per liter.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, similar shortages occurred in several
\ntowns in Central Java, such as Cilacap, Kebumen and Purwokerto.<\/p>\n
A 50-year old housewife in the Bandung suburb of Cikutra,
\nMulyati, said it had been hard for residents there to buy
\nkerosene from local stalls since last week. \"Kerosene is now
\navailable only at big shops,\" she told The Jakarta Post on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
She said she had bought kerosene for the normal price before
\nIdul Fitri festivities, but since Dec. 18 it had gradually
\nincreased to Rp 900 per liter on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Kerosene was also sold at higher prices in other suburban
\nareas in Bandung, including Margacinta, Kopo Sayati, Ujungberung,
\nCimahi, Ciwedey and Pangalengan, due to the supply shortages.<\/p>\n
The worst shortages were in Singaparna subdistrict in the West
\nJava town of Tasikmalaya, where kerosene was selling at around Rp
\n1,500 per liter.<\/p>\n
Since Tuesday, state oil company Pertamina has been
\nimplementing a \"special market operation\" by providing extra
\nsupplies of kerosene in several affected areas in Bandung to
\nstabilize the soaring price.<\/p>\n
Edi Adrian, head of Pertamina's government-people relations in
\nBandung, said his office had distributed at least 800,000 liters
\nof kerosene across the city from its three depots in Padalarang,
\nUjungberung and Tasikmalaya.<\/p>\n
However, the operation had not yet been fully effective as
\nlong queues of residents waiting to buy kerosene could still be
\nseen in many parts of Bandung.<\/p>\n
Pertamina has limited the purchase of kerosene to between five
\nand 10 liters per family.<\/p>\n
Another housewife Idah, 59, who lives in the Cikalong area in
\nPengalengan, said she was worried the shortages would not be
\naddressed, with the price of kerosene remaining high.<\/p>\n
She admitted that she had bought kerosene for Rp 900-950 per
\nliter since last week. \"It affects low-income people when the
\nfuel price is always marked up by buyers,\" Idah said.<\/p>\n
Despite the long lines of people waiting for expensive
\nkerosene, Edi denied that residents faced difficulties in finding
\nsupplies. \"There are no such shortages,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Based on field monitoring carried out by Pertamina and the
\nlocal branch of the National Oil and Gas Businessmen's
\nAssociation (Hiswana Migas), Edi said that kerosene was no longer
\nscarce in many markets and traditional stalls.<\/p>\n
He also denied that the shortages were due to stockpiling by
\ndistributors seeking to generate higher revenues.<\/p>\n
\"The chaos is only due to the distribution network, not
\nstockpiling. Most kerosene vendors are still enjoying holidays in
\ntheir hometowns, so stocks overlap at distribution agents,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Based on data from the Hiswana Migas, there are 1,044 kerosene
\ndistributors with between 6,000 and 7,000 vendors in Bandung.
\nMost of them have yet to resume operations due to the
\nIdul Fitri and Christmas holidays.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kerosene-shortage-hits-w-java-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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