Jakarta,
Feb 27 (Antara) - Amid the increasing rice prices due to alleged acts
of rice mafia, the price of three-kilogram cylinders of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) is also on the rise in various regions.
The
increase in prices of these two commodities are not caused by the
shortage of stocks in the market but allegedly caused by distributors or
retailers who have orchestrated the conditions to reap more benefits.
In reality, when state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina conducted
market operations, it was found that there was no scarcity of stocks in
the field.
Thus,
the shortage of LPG in several regions is believed to be caused by
retailers who are deliberately withholding gas stocks, noted Ahmad
Bambang, the marketing director of state-owned oil and gas company
Pertamina.
"Retailers
want to make more profits by creating a situation that gives the
impression that Pertamina has been holding back its stocks," he stated
here on Thursday.
After launching market operations, Pertamina has uncovered that only 10
percent of the gas offered during the operations was sold.
"There is some indication that the low absorption of gas is caused by
retailers who are not releasing their gas stocks," Bambang noted.
The basic price of a three-kilogram LPG cylinder is only about Rp16
thousand to 18 thousand depending on the reference prices in the regions
concerned.
However, in recent days since early this month, the
price has reached between Rp20 thousand to Rp21 thousand per
cylinder. In North Sumatra's Balige, Toba Samosir District, in
particular, it has even touched Rp26 thousand per cylinder.
Caretaker of the Director General of Oil and Gas of the Ministry of
Energy and Mineral Resources I Gusti Nyoman Wiratmaja remarked that
almost all regions in Sumatra and Java experienced a price hike
averaging between Rp20 thousand and Rp21 thousand for the three-kilogram
cylinder category.
However, he denied reports that there had been a gas shortage in several regions since early this month.
According to Pertamina Marketing Director Bambang, retailers have been
trying to withhold stocks in an effort to drive up prices and to enjoy
more gains from the sales.
He
explained that if retailers or distributors are found guilty, Pertamina
will not hesitate to impose sanctions on them by either suspending
their operating permits or reducing the supplies to them.
"I
have just returned from Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara Province), where a
three-kilogram cylinder was selling at Rp18 thousand. And in Depok,
which is closer to Jakarta, the price of a three-kilogram cylinder
reached Rp22 thousand," Bambang stated.
This
is a result of fabrication to falsely show that stocks in the market
are running short, while in fact, the stocks are adequate.
"In
Binjai (North Sumatra), it was reported that stocks in the market are
running short. But, it turned out that there was no scarcity. Data found
in the field indicated that some retailers hoarded stocks because they
believed Pertamina will raise the prices," Nyman Wiratmadja noted in
Jakarta on Wednesday.
Wiratmadja said he was surprised to hear that the consumers in Depok,
West Java, were facing difficulties in buying three-kilogram LPG
cylinders. After all, his office has monitored it and found no scarcity
in the region.
He
explained that the government had not hiked the price of the
three-kilogram cylinders, assuring that no problems were encountered in
the distribution of gas. Therefore, Wiratmadja appealed to the people to
immediately report any shortage of stocks. The government hopes that it
will be able to give a swift response.
"I have formed a quick
response task force to overcome gas shortage. Please send me a report
soon, so that we can quickly respond to it. It should not happen that
housewives are not able to cook," Wiratmadja emphasized.
In response to the LPG scarcity reports, Pertamina has conducted market operations from February 25 to 27 in West Java.
Pertamina spokesperson Milla Suciyani announced that the state-owned
oil and gas company had increased the supply of three-kilogram cylinders
in the West Java region from February 25 to 27, 2015.
She revealed here on Thursday that Pertamina has released some 260
thousand three-kilogram gas cylinders for Bogor and some 93 thousand for
Depok.
She said more West Java regions such as Cirebon, Majalengka, Kuningan,
Garut, and Cianjur will be provided 50 percent additional stocks in
their daily allocations.
Pertamina will be launching market operations in regions reportedly running short of the three-kilogram LPG cylinders.
"However, during our earlier operations, not many consumers purchased from us," she observed.
On Wednesday, Pertamina carried out market operations in Tambun,
Cikarang, and Citeureup. "Of the 560 cylinders made available, only
about 10 percent were sold," she pointed out.
However, Milla noted that Pertamina will continue its market operations
to meet the demand for three-kilogram LPG cylinders in regions running
short of supplies.
"Among other places, we will launch market operations in Cinere, Cibinong, and Tamansari," she added.
In the meantime, Oil and Gas Private Businesses Association (Hiswana
Migas) for Bogor has proposed to supply about 20 percent additional
stocks of the three-kilogram LPG cylinders to meet the needs of the
consumers.
"We have proposed to Pertamina to supply 20 percent additional stocks
of the three-kilogram cylinders for Bogor City and 20 percent for Bogor
District (West Java)," Hiswana Migas Chairman for Bogor Bahriun stated
on Tuesday.
He
explained that in order to fulfill the additional supply, Pertamina
will send 4.12 million cylinders to Bogor. They will directly be sent to
25 distributors in Bogor City and 75 distributors in Bogor
District.***3***
(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(H-YH)
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 27-02-2015 18:54: |
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