Netizens Vent Over Surge in Mask Prices Amid Mount Anak Krakatau Volcanic Ash

The spread of volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau has also increased demand for face masks. As is known, the government has urged people engaging in activities outside the home to wear masks in order to reduce the risk of health problems caused by exposure to volcanic ash.

Masks serve to protect the respiratory tract from very fine volcanic ash particles, such as rock, minerals and fragments of volcanic glass. However, amid this rising demand, a number of unscrupulous parties have taken advantage of the situation by raising mask prices, particularly for the N95 type.

The rise in mask prices has become a hot topic among the public on the social media platform Threads since Sunday, 6 September 2026. One of them is the account @bapethh, who said they had purchased masks online. Unfortunately, the order was cancelled due to the price increase.

“EVIL MASK SELLERS. Last night I checked out, then this morning it was cancelled, they said the PRICE HAD GONE UP, and when I saw the new price it had genuinely risen tenfold,” the user wrote.

The post immediately drew numerous responses from other Threads users. Another Threads user revealed they had experienced something similar, though the price increase they encountered was not as steep as that of the original poster.

“This morning I checked out at the normal price, then it was cancelled straight away. Doubled in price,” replied the user @ardelia.mzn, attaching a screenshot of their mask purchase history.

Another user also shared a similar experience, in which they had bought through an e-commerce platform but the order was cancelled unilaterally and the price of the goods was raised.

“SERIOUSLY, I WAS SHOCKED. Checked out this morning, saw this Threads post and immediately checked my order. How could they cancel it unilaterally and then raise the price!” another commenter wrote.

Another user also complained about the price increase. They explained that when they were about to complete payment, a notification appeared indicating a price change on one of the products they had ordered.

“As someone from a group vulnerable to ash and smoke, today I opened an e-commerce app to check out one pack of KF95 masks and two packs of KF94. When I was about to pay, there was a notification saying one of the products had changed. I went back and checked again — it turned out the KF95 mask price had changed. It had risen almost 100% from the original price,” another commenter wrote.