Day: April 13, 2022

The government has suggested to the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) to increase the quota for subsidized 90-octane Pertalite fuel and diesel fuel as a precautionary measure against the rising global crude oil prices.

Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Minister Arifin Tasrif stated that the additional subsidized fuel quota is deemed necessary on account of the increasing price disparity between subsidized and non-subsidized fuels.

“The global political situation has caused oil prices to rise. The average Indonesian Crude Oil Price (ICP) in March 2022 had reached US$98.4 per barrel,” he noted during a working meeting with Commission VII of the DPR RI here on Wednesday.

Tasrif noted that the figure surges far above the state budget assumption of the ICP, which was only US$63 per barrel.

During the period from January to March 2022, the government noted that the realized quotas of distributed Pertalite fuel and diesel fuel were higher by 14 percent and 9.49 percent respectively as compared to the initial planned quota.

Hence, the government will increase the Pertalite fuel quota by 5.45 million kiloliters to reach 28.5 million kiloliters, while the quota for diesel fuel will be raised by 2.28 million kiloliters to reach 17.39 million kiloliters.

The demand for diesel fuel hiked due to increasing mining and plantation activities.

The 2022 state budget has stipulated that the quota for Pertalite reaches 23.05 million kiloliters. As of April 2, 2022, some 6.48 million kiloliters of the fuel were distributed.

However, the initial quota of subsidized diesel fuel is 15.10 million kiloliters out of which 4.08 million kiloliters were disbursed as of April 2, 2022.

Hence, the initial quota left for Pertalite and diesel fuel reached 16.57 million kiloliters and 11.02 million kiloliters respectively.

Furthermore, the minister emphasized that the government will strive to maintain the reliability of fuel supply and distribution during the Ramadan month and Eid al-Fitr holiday period.

“We will impose strict sanctions against people, who have misused the subsidized fuels. In addition, we are attempting to optimize the digitalization of gas stations,” he added.

Source: Antara News

The Transportation Ministry has allowed the reopening of the route from Karimun International Port, Riau Islands to Stulang Laut Ferry Terminal, Malaysia, after a gap of two years.

The proposal for reopening the Karimun-Stulang Laut route was submitted in February 2022, after the government decided to reopen the international voyage routes from Bintan and Batam districts to Malaysia and Singapore, head of the Riau Islands Transportation Office, Junaidi, informed here on Wednesday.

However, Karimun Port has not yet been made operational because the Directorate General of Immigration has not issued any permit, he said.

The Riau Islands regional government is optimistic that the Ministry of Law and Human Rights will support the international route access from Karimun to increase the number of tourists coming from Malaysia.

“Hopefully, in the near future, the permit will be issued so the port can operate,” Junaidi said.

Access to international ports in Batam and Bintan has been reopened since the end of February 2022, he added.

Several policy improvements have been made to increase international tourist arrivals, such as the revoking of PCR test requirements for tourists arriving from Malaysia and Singapore at Bandar Telani Bentan Port in Bintan, Batam Centre International Ferry Terminal, Harbour Bay, and Nongsa Port.

A similar no-PCR test policy has also been implemented for tourists arriving at Sri Bintan Pura International Port, Tanjungpinang city.

“The number of tourists who enter Riau Islands is slowly increasing,” Junaidi noted.

Head of the Riau Islands Tourism Office, Buralimar, said he hopes that the Directorate General of Immigration will promptly issue a permit allowing Karimun Port to operate.

The acceleration of port operations in Karimun needs to be done to increase tourist visits from Malaysia ahead of Eid, he added.

“Malaysians have many relatives who live in Riau Islands whom they will visit before Eid, ending the two-year longing of not seeing each other,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has projected that the Indonesian economy will grow 4.5–5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022 amidst uncertainty about the global economy due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We will remain in a range of 4.5 to 5.2 percent, with the mid-point of 5 percent for the first quarter of 2022,” she said at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The first-quarter growth projection is based on several economic indicators, which performed well until early March 2022, including consumer confidence, retail sales, motor vehicle sales, cement consumption, and electricity consumption, she informed.

Throughout 2022, the national economy is projected to grow within a range of 4.8–5.5 percent, she added.

Many international institutions, including the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund (IMF), are expected to revise their global economic outlook downward this month, the minister said.

“In April, there will be many reports about the downward revision of the global economic outlook following the war in Ukraine,” she added.

OECD had revised its global economic growth forecast for 2022 downward to 3.5 percent from 4.5 percent earlier.

Meanwhile, the World Bank had also lowered its economic growth forecast for East Asia and the Pacific this year to 4.0–5.0 percent from 5.4 percent.

“The World Bank has projected that the Indonesian economy will grow 5.1 percent this year,” she said.

Source: Antara News

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has projected that the quota of subsidized fuels, including of Pertalite gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene, will run out in October 2022.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif explained that the consumption of diesel fuel grew by 10 percent while that of Pertalite increased by 14 percent in the first quarter of 2022, while kerosene consumption is forecast to clock a growth of 10.09 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“This reason is why we extrapolate until year-end because by October 2022, the quota will run out if we do not make any additions,” the minister cautioned.

To this end, he noted that the government had recommended to legislators to increase the subsidy fuel quota as a precautionary measure.

Tasrif explained that in the proposal, the quota for Pertalite should be increased by 5.45 million kiloliters (Kl), additional diesel fuel by 2.28 million Kl, and additional kerosene by 0.10 million Kl.

According to the minister, the proposed additions in the supplies of subsidized fuel paid attention to the post-pandemic rapid economic recovery and the widening price gap between subsidized fuel and non-subsidized fuel.

In the 2022 state budget, he elaborated, the volume of subsidized Pertalite quota was 23.05 million Kl, and as of April 2, 2022, some 6.48 million Kl has been realized or distributed, thereby leaving the remaining quota of Pertalite at 16.57 million Kl.

Furthermore, in the state budget, the subsidized diesel fuel quota amounted to 15.10 million Kl, with the distribution reaching 4.08 million Kl, so 11.02 million Kl still remained. The volume of the subsidized kerosene quota reaches 0.48 million Kl, with 0.12 million Kl been distributed, thereby leaving only 0.36 million Kl.

At the meeting, the Commission VII of the House expressed its support and agreed with the government’s suggestion to increase the quota of subsidized fuel: Pertalite, from 5.4 million Kl to 28.50 million Kl; diesel fuel, from 2.28 to 17.39 million Kl; and kerosene, from 0.10 to 0.58 million Kl.

Source: Antara News

Bank Indonesia (BI) has urged people to shop wisely during Eid this year in order to maintain the stability of commodity prices.

“Shop wisely according to need, and (do) not (buy) excessively,” deputy head of North Kalimantan Representative Office of Bank Indonesia Bambang Irwanto said in Tarakan, North Kalimantan, on Wednesday.

He delivered the statement during a seminar on ‘Education on Wise Expenditures during National Religious Holidays on the Occasion of Eid Al-Fitr 1443 H and Love, Proud to Use, and Understanding Rupiah.’

Irwanto called upon the Family Welfare and Empowerment (PKK) members, civil servants’wives organization (Dharma Wanita), and the Association of City Women’s Organizations Tarakan to promote wise shopping.

The measure is aimed at maintaining the stability of food prices and improving the effectiveness of the monetary policy ahead of Eid this year.

He said he also expected women to encourage their networks and acquaintances to shop wisely.

“These efforts can support the achievement of stable inflation through maintained prices of goods and services, especially during Ramadan this year,” he remarked.

He informed that North Kalimantan’s inflation is projected to be stable within a target range of 3±1 percent in 2022.

“In March 2022, Tarakan city was recorded to experience monthly inflation of 0.52 percent (month to month). This means that the increase in the price of goods and services in Tarakan in March 2022 is 0.52 percent from February 2022,” he elaborated.

This good tiding resulted from the collaboration between Bank Indonesia and Tarakan city government through the Regional Inflation Control Team.

Irwanto also cited public contribution as a big factor in the achievement.

“The inflation rate in Tarakan city is not only influenced by the supply of available commodities, it is also determined by the rate of public demand,” he said.

Source: Antara News

Governor of West Java, M. Ridwan Kamil, has assured that stocks of food, especially staple goods, in the province are sufficient.

“In general, it (the stock) is safe. However, there are still findings of bulk cooking oil being sold at high prices,” he said here on Wednesday.

The distribution of bulk cooking oil in West Java is being carried out online through an application, he informed.

According to Kamil, the government has taken the step to prevent queues of people, especially during the fasting month of Ramadan.

He admitted that the region could not control the supply and demand of bulk cooking oil. Nevertheless, the provincial government has provided a solution that allows people to buy cooking oil through the application.

“Indeed, we cannot control the supply-demand, but at least we can help facilitate the buying method so that during the fasting month, there are no queues; no one faints again because everything is carried out online,” Kamil said.

In Cirebon, the governor accompanied President Joko Widodo to monitor food stocks in several markets in the city.

The President also distributed cash assistance (BLT) to help people purchase cooking oil and provided business capital assistance to vendors.

Earlier, Deputy Minister of Trade, Jerry Sambuaga, had affirmed the ministry’s commitment to continuously monitoring and ensuring that food remains affordable and available during Ramadan and ahead of the Eid holidays.

“Almost every day, I visit traditional markets. We make sure from the vendors because we are committed to giving and ensuring that the prices are affordable, and the stocks are available,” he told reporters after reviewing food prices at Baru Market, Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday.

The deputy minister assured that the supervision conducted by the food task force, Indonesian Military (TNI), and National Police (Polri) will continue until the 2022 Eid al-Fitr period.

Source: Antara News