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Fears of imminent Pertalite shortage lead to call for purchase restrictions
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State-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina requires customers to register their vehicles to continue purchasing subsidized fuel. (Pertamina/Public Relation)
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urchase restrictions may be required to prevent an imminent shortage of Pertalite gasoline and Solar diesel amid surging consumption of the two subsidized fuel brands and their consequent dwindling supply.
Ahmad Zuhdi Dwi Kusuma, an industry and area analyst at state-owned Bank Mandiri, has warned that the government’s expected plan to increase subsidized fuel prices, in itself, will not significantly reduce the consumption of Pertalite and Solar.
Therefore, he said, policymakers need to immediately control the distribution of Pertalite and Solar, as supplies of the two subsidized fuel brands continues to thin out as a result of spiking demand.
“So far [the government] is providing fuel subsidies to people who are not supposed to receive them. [Therefore], limiting distribution will help reduce [pressure] on the ballooning budget for subsidies and compensation,” Zuhdi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He estimated the subsidized gasoline quota will run out some time in early October, based on a calculation that monthly demand for Pertalite amounts to 2.4 million kiloliters (kl).
As of July, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina had a stock of 6.2 million kl of Pertalite and 5 million kl of Solar.
Read also: Pertamina delays curbs on subsidized fuel purchases
