Kerosene and sugar shortage in Jayapura
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.