Non-subsidised fuel prices rise, Celios warns of need for subsidised fuel oversight

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Executive Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara stated that it is important for the government to monitor the purchase of subsidised fuel oil (BBM) amid the increase in non-subsidised fuel prices.

Bhima, when contacted in Jakarta on Sunday, assessed that the rise in non-subsidised fuel prices is reasonable given the increase in market prices and the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP).

“However, what needs attention, for example, what I’m concerned about is the 60% increase in Pertamina Dex, and Pertamina Dex is not only for mid-to-upper vehicles, but also for industrial engines, heavy equipment in the mining sector, and in the palm oil sector, many buy Pertamina Dex,” said Bhima.

With the significant increase in Pertamina Dex from Rp14,500 per litre to Rp23,900 per litre, he warned of the potential for consumers to shift to subsidised diesel, which has not experienced a price increase.

This, Bhima continued, is feared to affect the supply of subsidised diesel.

“So it will impact the subsidised diesel supply as well. There will be leaks there. So supervision of subsidised diesel must also be tight, especially outside Java, whether used for logistics or for heavy equipment as mentioned earlier, yes, (for example) in the mining industry, in plantations,” explained Bhima.

“Now there must be tightening, don’t let massive leaks occur due to the shift and the price difference that is too wide between subsidised diesel and non-subsidised diesel,” he added.

Bhima assessed that this could also influence Pertamax Turbo consumers to switch to Pertamax, which also has not experienced a price increase.

As for the price of Pertamax Turbo in the DKI Jakarta area as of 18 April, it has risen to Rp19,400 per litre from Rp13,100 per litre on 1 April 2026.

“If the increase for Pertamax Turbo is quite high, consumption will certainly decrease. But where will it shift? It will shift to Pertamax. The economic price difference for Pertamax is still wide,” he said.

He assessed that the government’s increase in non-subsidised fuel prices such as Pertamax Turbo, Dexlite, and Pertamina Dex is temporary following the tendency of oil prices to fall due to the decreasing escalation of the Iran-US-Israel war.

Therefore, Bhima suggested that besides tighter supervision, incentives are also needed for business actors who purchase non-subsidised fuel.

“Then perhaps some kind of incentive (for industry) should be given to ease production costs because the production cost burden could rise further if they continue to buy non-subsidised fuel like Pertamina Dex earlier, so the increase in production cost burden does not lead to inefficiencies or layoffs,” he said.