Pertamina misleads public in defining 'retail price'
Pertamina misleads public in defining 'retail price'
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State-run oil and gas company Pertamina revealed on Friday how
it misled the public about the price of kerosene.
It's explanation partly explains why the price is about double
the Rp 600 "retail price" set by the company.
The government announced on Jan. 16 that kerosene for
households and small enterprises was to increase from Rp 400 to
just Rp 600 per liter. Since then the price has soared to between
Rp 1,000 and Rp 1,500 per liter, prompting widespread outrage.
Public confusion was answered by Pertamina on Friday when it
said that what it meant as the ceiling retail price, was in fact
the price Pertamina sells the kerosene to dealers.
The retail price was the kerosene price per liter based on a
radius of 40 kilometers. In Jakarta, the administration decided
on Jan. 17 that the price was Rp 760 per liter.
The further the distance from Jakarta, the more expensive the
price becomes. In West Java, the price is Rp 740 per liter while
in Banten the price is yet to be announced but is expected to be
Rp 738 per liter.
Ngatiman, a kiosk owner from Tangerang, claimed he bought the
kerosene from subdealers for Rp 1,000 per liter and sold at Rp
1,100.
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairwoman Indah
Suksmaningsih blasted Pertamina for misleading the public.
"Pertamina definitely didn't give the right explanation to the
consumers. They gave the illusion that the kerosene price only
slightly increased. The fact is that at the market the price is
far too high above the ceiling retail price."
Indah recommended Pertamina distribute placards showing the
standard kerosene price to control prices. She also urged
Pertamina to change the ceiling retail price term into the
ceiling profiteer price.
The prices of other fuels are the same throughout the country
-- premium (sold at Rp 1,550), automotive diesel oil (Rp 1,150),
industrial diesel oil (Rp 1,110) and fuel oil (Rp 925).
However, kerosene prices vary widely.
Pertamina declined to be responsible for the skyrocketing
kerosene price at the retail level.
"The working contract between Pertamina and kerosene dealers
states that Pertamina's charge (over its supply) will end once
the tanker trucks carrying the kerosene leaves through
Pertamina's depot gate," said Sumarsono, Pertamina marketing unit
III's general manager overseeing fuel supply in West Java,
Jakarta and Banten provinces.
"Outside the gate, it's the dealers' responsibility to
transport the kerosene to the consumers' hand."
Sumarsono blamed the "irrational" price on the long-chain from
dealers, subdealers and retailers.
YLKI saw Pertamina's statement as an attempt to evade the
charges.
"If Pertamina wants to seek an excuse from the responsibility,
they must release their business as the (natural) source belongs
to the people," Indah said.
Even though Sumarsono said that it was not responsible for the
soaring price hike, it vowed to take firm measures to crack down
on dealers and subdealers found guilty for increasing kerosene
prices to inflated levels.
"We've asked the police for help to eradicate irregularities
in exchange for a 50 percent share of the confiscated fuel,"
Sumarsono said.
Police along with Pertamina's personnel have reportedly
confiscated thousands of tons of hoarded fuel during a two-week
operation.
Sumarsono even complained that all confiscated fuel -- being
stored as police "evidence" -- was now being stored at
Pertamina's depots which in turn took up existing space for
Pertamina's own fuel.
"We can do nothing to the evidence as the legal proceeding
drags on. We can't mix it with our own fuel so larger spaces are
needed for them," he said.