REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) said the government would perforce increase subsidized fuel price in 2012 due to international oil price. “It is inevitably. But it will save our future economy. If we had any other solution, the price would not be increased,” the president said on Thursday. 

The fuel price in international market is under pressure as Iran halts its export to UK and France. And the tension in the Middle East also causes another alarm to Indonesian economy, since the country depend on oil import.

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jero Wacik, expects the public will accept the increase. “I really apologize,” he said, directed to the public, without elaborating when the increase takes into effect.

Wacik said that the increase of fuel price should be approved by House of Representatives (DPR) and should also change the 2012 state budget (APBN). The meeting between the government and the legislative will be held next week.

Cause great impact 

The Minister of Trade, Gita Wirjawan, said Indonesia must prepare as the increasing of fuel price would impact a number of imported products. “Indonesia imports many products from countries that also suffering fuel price increase,” he said.

The government is calculating the impact of fuel price to inflation. Yet unlike manufacture sector, Indonesian export in natural resources will not be affected much by the increase, he added. The value of Indonesian export in 2011 is 203 million USD. Wirjawan added it would be hard to increase the export this year due to the world crisis.

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