Pertamina to boost fuel and kerosene supplies

JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina has boosted supplies of diesel oil and kerosene in the domestic market to keep their prices from soaring due to speculation and hoarding, company president Baihaki Hakim said on Wednesday.

Without citing figures of the supplies, Baihaki said in Surabaya that under normal conditions the supply was sufficient for 16 days and "now the supply will be for 30 days."

Following the government's plan to increase fuel prices, people have found it difficult to get kerosene for their stoves.

Most traders have allegedly piled up the stock and plan to sell it at a new price after April 1.

Baihaki said it was not easy to deal with the speculators. "We have cooperated with local administrations to conduct market operations."

As of Saturday, the price of kerosene will increase to Rp 350 from Rp 280, but the government has promised to protect poor families from the increases by providing each of the families with Rp 70 in cash aid to buy one liter of kerosene.

The figure is the difference between the new and the old price.

With the assumption that a family uses 15 liters of kerosene per month, each family will receive Rp 10,000 from the government in a cash subsidy for the nine-month period of the April-December 2000 fiscal year.

However, many people are skeptical that the distribution of the cash subsidy will be smooth.

In the North Sumatra capital of Medan, kerosene has reportedly "vanished" from the market. Some are lucky enough to be able to buy the fuel for between Rp 500 and Rp 700 per liter, as against the old retail price of Rp 400.

People were seen queuing for kerosene at distributors' shops in the districts of Medan Labuhan and Medan Amplas on Wednesday.

In Lubuk Pakam, people were enraged after queuing for hours in front of shops only to find out in the end that the shop had run out of kerosene.

They pelted the shops with stones before policemen arrived to disperse them.

B. Siregar, a kerosene seller said he had no idea why the price of kerosene had been increasing from day to day ahead of April 1.

"I have to sell it at new price, as I bought it from distributors at the price of Rp 500 per liter," he said. "Usually people come to me with small containers, but now they are queuing with larger containers." (nur/39/sur)