Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remains scarce in Makassar, South Sulawesi, with prices currently hovering between Rp 80,000 (US$8.6) and Rp 95,000 per 12-kg canister, despite additional supplies of up to 15 percent above normal from state oil and gas company PT Pertamina.
Based on observations by The Jakarta Post in Makassar Friday, LPG remained scarce, with most retailers out of stock. They acknowledged supplies were irregular from distributors and stocks were limited.
LPG prices were above normal. On the retailer's level, the price of a 12-kg tank ranged between Rp 80,000 and Rp 95,000.
"Supplies have instead reduced. Before Ramadan, the sub-distributor supplied me with 10 canisters four times a week, but since the start of Ramadan, I got my supply of 17 tanks only once on Thursday," said Muis, a LPG retailer on Jl Veteran Selatan, Makassar.
Muis said he sold a canister of LPG at Rp 80,000, because he bought it at Rp 75,000 from the sub-distributor. All the tanks were sold in just half an hour, he added.
A consumer Rahmat said he bought LPG at Rp 95,000 from one of the retailers in his housing complex. "I have to buy it although its expensive. I have to be thankful because getting it was very hard, as I had to look around," he said.
Meanwhile, the general manager of Pertamina's Region VII unit, overseeing Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua, Suherimanto, said LPG scarcity in the city and other areas in South Sulawesi was attributed to panic buying.
"We have increased LPG supplies to distributors at up to 15 percent above normal stocks since the start of Ramadan. So, LPG should not have been scarce in the market," he said here on Thursday evening.
Pertamina supplied 4,300 metric tons of LPG, or 170 metric tons per day to 14 distributors in Makassar before Ramadan and upped supplies from the start of Ramadan.
Pertamina's Region V domestic gas manager Zulfikar said his unit stocked between 600 and 700 canisters of LPG to each of the distributors, a supply level he thought appropriate to meet demand in Makassar.
He added distributors also served the general public aside from supplying stocks to sub-distributors and retailers. One distributor oversees up to 50 sub-distributors and retailers.
"This shows that there are around 700 LPG outlets in Makassar, so that LPG shouldn't be scarce and expensive," said Zulfikar.
In response to the media, Suherimanto explained that LPG was a commodity that could be traded freely and its retail price was not regulated by the government. The distributors set their own retail prices, often pitching high, while retailers set a price geared to end users.
Pertamina estimates that the optimum price of a 12-kg canister of LPG at the retailer level should be from Rp 75,000 to Rp 77,000.
"We set the price at the distributors' level. If they breach the fixed price and area distribution we will certainly mete out sanctions. We have disciplined five distributors by harshly reprimanding them and by slashing their quotas up to 10 percent for three months. But we don't have any arrangements with retailers and can only urge them to sell LPG at a proper price," said Suherimanto.
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|