GOVT URGED TO LOWER DIESEL OIL PRICE

Jakarta, Nov 11 (ANTARA) - The government should be wise and adopt a policy to lower the price of diesel oil which is much used in the productive sectors, a businessman engaged in the fish canning industry said.
"The government has decided to cut the price of premium gasoline which is much used by private car owners. It should have lowered the price of diesel oil which is much used by the productive sectors," chairman of the Association of Indonesian Fish Canning Industries (Apitindo) Adi Suryo said on Tuesday.
He said the government should be wise in taking decisions amid the current global financial crisis.
Suryo said the government should help alleviate businesses' burden by lowering the price of diesel oil which is much used in their production processes.
Moreover, the government through a joint decree (SKB) of four ministers had hoped that companies would maintain their production levels, he said.
In the meantime, chairman of the Indonesian Shrimp Catching Association (HPPI) Sukirjo said a cut in the diesel oil price, no matter by how much , would help fishermen and fishery companies.
"We welcome fuel oil price cuts as the world crude price has gone down. The government has decided to lower the gasoline price but why it has not lowered the diesel oil price," he added.
Sukirjo said with the present diesel oil price, shrimp fishermen had to spend about 60 to 70 percent of their sales proceeds on fuel oil.
Previously, Minister for National Development Planning / Chairman of the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) Paskah Suzetta had said that it was not impossible for the government to lower the diesel oil and kerosene prices if the world crude price fell to US$60 a barrel.
The government had already decided to cut the premium gasoline price by Rp500 from Rp6,000 to Rp5,500 per liter effective December 1, 2008.