Kerosene prices soar due to scarcity in West Sumatra
Kasparman, The Jakarta Post, Padang
A kerosene scarcity in several regencies of West Sumatra province has raised the price of the fuel by more than 100 percent, further burdening a public still reeling from recent increases in the prices of other goods.
The scarcity is mainly affecting the regencies of Agam, Pasaman, Solok, Sawahlunto Sijunjung and Mentawai island.
Syamsu, a kerosene retailer in Lubuk Basung, Agam regency, said that he had experienced the scarcity of the fuel at first hand. He gets his kerosene supply from a wholesaler, who is also suffering from the shortages.
"It's not every time we want kerosene that we get it. Sometimes the wholesaler himself runs out. And we have to wait. But every time we go to the wholesaler we have to spend more money on transport," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He added that the shortage had caused the wholesalers and retailers to increase their prices by more than 100 percent. According to Syamsu, the retail price set by the state oil and gas company Pertamina in West Sumatra is only Rp 765 per liter.
But data from the public relations department of the West Sumatra administration shows that in Agam's Lebak Basung subdistrict, the kerosene price has reached more than Rp 1,700 per liter.
In Pasaman, it had reached Rp 1,800 per liter and in Mentawai island, the fuel was retailing for up to Rp 4,000.
Nofrizon, a resident of Mentawai, told the Post that the significant rise in the price of kerosene on the island was not only due to the scarcity, but also the management of Padang sea port's decision to stop sea transportation to the island due to the inclement weather.
Usually, the Padang to Mentawai route was served by the Sumber Rezeki and Meleget ships. But last week, they halted services due to the weather.
"The Padang harbormaster couldn't authorize sailings to Mentawai because of the heavy seas," Nofrizon said in Padang.
The increase in the price of kerosene has further hit local residents following the recent increases in the prices of gasoline, diesel fuel, telephone, electricity and transportation charges.
Pertamina's public relations chief Fitri Erika told the press in Padang that she was unaware of the increase in the kerosene price. She said that the company only monitored fuel prices up to the wholesaler level.
"But we haven't found any price increases at the wholesaler level. If we did find them, we would be able to tackle them," she explained.
She said that the increase could be due to the fact that the daily supply of kerosene to the province was set at only 509.5 kiloliters, which was not enough to meet increasing local demands.
According to the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the per capita demand for kerosene per month is 3.7 liters.
But the West Sumatra administration had set the figure at only 2.9 liter for every person in the province. "Based on Bappenas data, 2.9 liters per day is actually not enough," she explained.
She said that Pertamina in Padang was trying to increase the kerosene supply from the current 509.5 liters to 610 liters per day. "We've sent a letter to Pertamina Unit I in Medan to ask for an increase in the supply. But we haven't received any response yet," she said.