Jakarta – As the country braces for more street protests and panic buying ahead of the fuel price increase on Oct. 1, the fuel scarcity has created long lines on Wednesday at filling stations and kerosene distributors nationwide.
In Bandarlampung, the increased price of kerosene from Rp 800 to Rp 2,000 per liter made the three-day wait for the fuel – which the nation's poorest people use for cooking – all the more frustrating. Moreover, a purchase of five liters was the most a family could hope for. Several small-scale industries have reportedly switched from using kerosene to diesel fuel.
In some areas, like Way Kanan regency, the price of kerosene had surpassed that of Premium gasoline at Rp 3,000 per liter.
Ruslan, a kerosene agent in Bandarlampung, said he let customers deposit their empty containers with him out of pity.
He said he usually received 5,000 liters of kerosene every three days but, over the last month, he received it once a week. "Now we only get the supply once a week, on Saturdays, so it's not enough for all residents," said Ruslan.
In Harapanjaya subdistrict, a 200-liter supply of kerosene was quickly sold. "Once the kerosene supply arrives, customers storm in and it's gone within an hour," said Husin, the trader.
In Lempasing, South Lampung, residents pitted against fishermen who are now powering their boats with kerosene, while in Kotakarang subdistrict in Bandarlampung, kerosene was hard to come by as retailers preferred to sell it to fishermen at higher prices.
Head of state oil company Pertamina in Lampung, Amilin Ali, blamed the kerosene scarcity on panic buying ahead of the imminent fuel price increases.
Currently, he said, the company had a three-day supply of 2,700 kiloliters of Premium gasoline, 4,400 kiloliters of kerosene for six days and 17,400 kiloliters of diesel oil for 11 days. "Although the supply is counted on a daily basis, two tankers provide a fresh fuel supply everyday," Amilin said.
Long queues were observed at gas stations across the country, including in Semarang, Surakarta and its surrounding cities like Salatiga and Magelang, as many motorists had to wait for hours to get gasoline.
At Tanjung Emas harbor in Semarang, tanker MT Sinar Yogya unloaded on Tuesday 24,000 kiloliters of Premium gasoline.
"We hope the arrival can help with the fuel shortages at several gas stations in Semarang," Pertamina's spokesperson in Semarang, Heppy Wulansari, said on Wednesday.
Several gas stations, including in the North Sulawesi town of Manado, had run out of gas on Wednesday, while in the East Java town of Kediri, several stations had set a five-liter limit on sales to prevent stockpiling ahead of the fuel price increases.
"We support the move (to set a five-liter limit) as it makes it easier to control," Kediri Police chief Adj. Comr. Suyono, told Antara.
In Yogyakarta, the scarcity has pushed the price of Premium gasoline up to Rp 7,500 per liter at retailers.
Although the government is yet to officially announce the new fuel prices, the prices of some basic goods have started to rise.
In Jambi, garlic was priced at Rp 8,000 a kg, from the previous Rp 7,000, while chilies were Rp 10,000 from the earlier Rp 7,000 a kg.
A trader, Umar, said on Wednesday he had to increase prices since his merchandise came from outside Jambi, such as West Sumatra, meaning high transportation costs due to fuel consumption. "We have to raise prices in order not to lose money," Umar said.