Kerosene and sugar shortage in Jayapura
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua
Jayapura suffered a kerosene shortage in May, which was blamed on late distribution caused by the long holiday weekends.
Hendry Dianto, who works for state oil company Pertamina's marketing unit overseeing Papua, said the long weekends on May 15 and May 29 disrupted some distribution schedules.
"The contract between Pertamina and its distributors says distribution can only be done on work days," he said.
The long weekends left 270 tons of kerosene undistributed.
For Sunarto in Koya district, the effort to get the kerosene was more expensive than the kerosene itself. He had to pay Rp 25,000 (US$3) for an ojek (motorcycle taxi) to buy five liters of kerosene for Rp 5,500 in Kotaraja, which is 30 kilometers away from his house.
The kerosene's price of Rp 1,100 per liter is slightly higher from the government-set price of Rp 995.
But not everyone was willing to travel that far to buy kerosene. One person, for example, just used aviation fuel instead.
"Since it's hard to find kerosene, I'll just use aviation fuel. Luckily I know someone who works at the Sentani airport who can bring me the fuel," said one resident who requested anonymity.
Meanwhile, East Java Governor Imam Utomo's decision to ban the distribution of imported sugar to other provinces has led to a sugar shortage in Jayapura.
The decision, announced on April 3, was made in order to ensure the sugar supply in East Java.
An official at the provincial industry and trade office in Jayapura, Marthen Patintingan, said there was only enough of a sugar stock in Papua to last for six weeks.
Marthen questioned the East Java governor's decision, which he said violated an order from the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Directorate General for Domestic Trade, dated March 11, on imported sugar distribution. This order states that entry point ports must distribute imported sugar to another areas.
"We have prepared a letter from the Papua governor to the director general to review the East Java governor's order, which will cause shortages in other areas," he said.
The sugar shortage in Jayapura has caused the price of sugar to rise to Rp 7,000 per kilogram from Rp 5,100.