Kerosene gets harder to find
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
More reports of kerosene shortages surfaced on Friday, with state-owned oil company Pertamina trying to wash its hands of the crisis, which has raised fears of social unrest in some parts of the country.
Kerosene vendors in Jakarta told The Jakarta Post on Friday that shortages had hit the city and surrounding areas over the past few days, pushing prices up to Rp 1,200 per litter, double the normal price of Rp 600.
Vendors also accused Pertamina of deliberately reducing the supply of kerosene in order to control the price.
"Pertamina has reduced its supply to distributors by half since early December 2001," said Rudi, a kerosene supplier in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
Reports from Makassar, South Sulawesi said that the province had been experiencing kerosene shortages since November 2001, with prices rising to Rp 3,700 per liter, compared to its normal price of Rp 900 per liter.
Rudi said he usually received 10,000 liters of kerosene per week in 2001 but had been receiving half that amount since Pertamina reduced the quota in early December.
Another kerosene supplier in Pejompongan, Central Jakarta, told the Post that some distributors were hoarding kerosene.
"It's common. They only want to make a profit by selling it later when the new price comes into effect," said the supplier, speaking under condition of anonymity.
Some people might receive a windfall from the situation, but, ironically, it is the low-income people who will suffer the most because they are the most regular customers.
A food vendor in Grogol, West Jakarta, for example, complained that the shortage of kerosene had caused problems for his business.
"I am spending more money on purchasing kerosene but I can't increase prices to my customers because they will just go elsewhere and buy from other vendors," said Jaja.
Jaja bought a liter of kerosene for Rp 800, which is Rp 200 higher than usual.
In Bogor, West Java, people had been experiencing kerosene shortages even before the Idul Fitri holidays. Prices have also soared to Rp 1,200 per liter from the usual price of Rp 600.
"We don't know whether it is true that kerosene is being hoarded, we are still checking with related agencies," said the chairman of Bogor Council's Commission B, Nuruzzaman.
In Bandung, local legislators slammed the West Java administration for its failure to address the issue of kerosene shortages, noting that the issue always seemed to occur every time the government was about to raise fuel prices.
"The government should know and take measures so that the general public don't have to buy kerosene at high prices," legislator Yudi Widiama Adia said.
Kerosene shortages hit West Java during the Idul Fitri festivities in mid-December, with prices ranging between Rp 900 and Rp 1,500 per liter, compared to the official price of Rp 500 per liter.
Until Friday, Pertamina had already sold over one million liters of kerosene through special market operations in Cianjur, Sukabumi, Garut, Tasikmalaya, Ciamis and Bandung.
The government is planing to increase fuel prices later this month by removing the existing subsidy.
Cirebon Military Commander Moch. Irrianto expressed fear that the kerosene shortage would trigger social unrest in the region.
"I have reported the problem to Siliwangi Military Command and we are anticipating public anger over the shortage of kerosene," he said.
Meanwhile, Pertamina's senior manager for fuel distribution Tuti Anggraeni said Pertamina had supplied fuel to areas suffering from the kerosene shortage.
"That is all that we can do. We can't stop people from storing fuel when they learn that fuel prices will be increased," Tuti told the Post.
She said Pertamina had been selling 20,000 to 30,000 liters of fuel everyday to areas experiencing kerosene shortages at subsidized prices.
Tuti added that Pertamina's fuel stock was sufficient to meet the nation's fuel demands for the next 25 days.