TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
3-kg LPG canister price skyrockets in Surakarta
Change Size
Prime commodity: A worker stacks 3-kilogram subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canisters at a warehouse in Tasikmalaya, West Java, on May 24. (Antara/Adeng Bustomi)
R
esidents of Surakarta, Central Java, have faced difficulties in finding subsidized 3-kilogram liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canisters in the past week. The short supply has led to the skyrocketing price of the canisters to Rp 20,000 (US$1.49) to Rp 30,000 each from its normal price of Rp 17,000.
The prices were set the highest in three districts in Boyolali regency, namely Andong, Klego and Simo. The LPG canisters in the three areas reportedly cost Rp 30,000.
“For more than one week, residents here have faced difficulties in getting the 3-kg LPG canisters. No canisters are available at the distributor level, let alone from retailers. Even if some grocery stores still have 3-kg LPG canisters, they will sell them at much higher prices -- up to Rp 30,000 each. Residents will still buy them because they need them,” said Tarmanto, 37, a resident of Kacangan village, Andong, on Thursday.
In Wonogiri regency, especially in villages, the canisters are often sold at Rp 22,000. Meanwhile, in the regency's downtown area, they are sold at between Rp 18,000 and Rp 20,000.
“Ahead of Idul Adha [Islamic Day of Sacrifice] and Independence Day celebrations, there has been a drastic increase in the demand of 3-kg LPG canisters. [...] We have asked for an additional quota of 560,160 to 600,000 canisters per month,” said Wahyu Widayati, head of the trade division at the Wonogiri Cooperatives, Industry, Trade and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Agency. (ebf)
