The Government Hasn't Decided on The New Price of Pertalite

VIVA – The government has yet to take a decision about adjusting the price of subsidized Pertalite gasoline despite an increase in the global crude price.

"Pertalite gasoline is currently priced at Rp7,650 (per liter). The government is still undecided (about adjusting it)," State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir noted here on Wednesday.

Thohir remarked that gasoline can fetch Rp50,000 and Rp60,000 per liter abroad.

Hence, the government has taken a stance to not subsidize the affluent people and raised the price of Pertamax gasoline, he stated.

Despite being raised, the price of Pertamax gasoline still falls short of the market price, so the government subsidizes it, he remarked.

"As I have stated, under the current food and energy circumstances, it is unlikely for the government to stay silent and to not intervene. Of course, the government is present. Its presence comes in various forms. (For instance), during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government provided drugs, vaccination, and so on for free," he remarked.

House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani has urged the government to take into account the public's financial condition before raising the fuel oil prices and electricity tariffs.

"The government needs to take seriously the (financial) condition of the community before applying a policy to raise pertalite gasoline, diesel oil, and liquefied petroleum gas prices as well as electricity tariffs in response to a surge in the global crude oil and gas prices," Maharani noted in a written statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The global crude prices soared due to the Russian-Ukraina geopolitical conflict that compelled the European Union to mull over an embargo on Russian crude oil. Accordingly, it has an impact on the domestic fuel oil prices.

In March 2022, the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) for Pertalite averaged US$128.19 per barrel, up 63 percent from an average of US$78.48 per barrel in 2021.

Despite the global crude price spiral, the Indonesian government is still able to keep the price of Pertalite gasoline at Rp7,650 per liter. (ant)