The high cost of living in East Kalimantan's Balikpapan is due to the city's dependency on supplies from, in particular, Java and Sulawesi, a survey shows.
Head of the Balikpapan chapter of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Kasiran said his office's latest survey showed the cost of living in the city was the highest among cities in Kalimantan.
"Based on our survey on prices of 1,800 commodities, including nine basic necessities, the prices in Balikpapan are the highest in Kalimantan," Kasiran told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
PT Mercer Indonesia revealed Saturday the results of its cost of living survey, which placed Balikpapan number one on a list of the most expensive cities in Indonesia.
According to the survey, Jakarta ranks second on the list, while Bekasi and Samarinda tie for third, followed by Bogor and Jayapura in fifth and sixth.
The survey was conducted across the country in July, two months after the government increase fuel prices. The survey took into account prices of food and basic necessities, transportation, utilities, housing, education, healthcare, entertainment and sports.
Kasiran said the high cost of living in Balikpapan, which has been dubbed the oil city, was mostly owing to high prices of commodities, which are largely brought to the island, especially from Java and Sulawesi.
Citing an example, he said rice in some traditional markets, including Pandansari, Klandasan and Sepinggan, was supplied from Sulawesi, while vegetables were brought from Java and Sulawesi.
Non-food basic necessities, including clothes, are mostly supplied from Java, he said.
"Although some regencies in East Kalimantan, including Penajam Paser Utara, have reached a rice self-sufficiency level, most of the rice is used for their own consumption," he said.
He said based on his office's survey in May, the monthly average cost of living in Balikpapan reached Rp 3.7 million (US$402) for an individual and the same amount for the minimum needs of a household.
He said the average cost of living in Pontianak, capital of West Kalimantan, and in Samarinda, capital of East Kalimantan, ranked two and three on the list, with monthly living costs of Rp 3.03 million and Rp 3.02 million, respectively.
Sampit and Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan ranked four and five out of cities on the island, with Rp 2.65 million and Rp 2.61 million respectively.
Agung Nugroho, head of statistics integration at the BPS's processing and dissemination division, said 980 households or respondents were surveyed in Balikpapan.
"We have surveyed the households for six months," Nugroho said.
He said the cost of living was based on the prices of foods, including rice, vegetables and cooking oils, as well as non-foods, including clothes, electricity and tap water bills, and education and transportation costs.
