JAKARTA - The government is currently drafting a special price scheme for non-subsidized fuel oil (BBM) for fishermen and fish business actors, especially owners of vessels measuring 30 gross tons (GT) to 200 GT.
The policy was reviewed as a response to the high operational burden that fishermen have been bearing due to the price of industrial fuel.
The discussion on the special pricing scheme was held in a coordination meeting at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Monday, July 13, involving a number of related ministries.
Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said the government was still finalizing the formulation of the policy with related ministries and agencies.
According to him, a number of alternatives are being prepared, but there is no final decision. "A special price is given. It has not been decided, it is being formulated. There are several alternatives but it has not been decided," he told the media.
He admitted that the proposal to provide special fuel prices indeed came from fishing business actors who operate ships ranging from 30 GT to 200 GT, but the government will still consider various aspects before setting policies.
"Yes, the essence of the proposal is that they propose that it is cheap, but we will have a count. Wait for this week," he said.
On the same occasion, the Director General of Capture Fisheries of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Lotharia Latif, said that fishermen have also continued to push for special treatment of the price of the fuel they use.
According to him, the government is currently calculating the scheme that is most suitable for fiscal capacity while still being able to ease the burden on fishermen.
"They have been asking for a specific price. Of course they are asking, the government is calculating with the existing ability, and of course it will be in accordance with later, well, we are just trying to give it, and within a week this will hopefully be (there) results," he said.
He explained that until now, fishing vessels ranging from 30 GT to 200 GT still use fuel at the industry price because they are not included in subsidized fuel recipients, so this condition makes the cost of operating at sea increasingly high.
"Until now, they have applied the industrial fuel prices, which are generally applicable. Because with that price, that's why their burden is getting heavier, because 70 percent of the ship's operations are in fuel, so the government is now actually bridging, wants them to be able to continue to operate," he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Yuliot Tanjung said the government was also calculating the fuel needs for the fisheries sector and the availability of supplies until the end of 2026.
According to him, the additional fuel needs for fishermen are estimated to reach around 400 thousand kiloliters. "So, we are calculating again how much the needs for the fishermen and also how the availability of fuel until the end of the year. So, for the fishermen we need about 400 thousand kiloliters more," he said.
He added that the special price amount was still under discussion and the government was also considering the difference between the schemes between ships under 30 GT that had obtained subsidized fuel and ships over 30 GT that still used non-subsidized fuel.
"The (specific) price has not been decided, so there are two first, there are subsidies below 30 GT and there are also non-subsidies above 30 GT. So, this is still being discussed with the Coordinating Minister," he said.
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