For more than a week, there have been shortages of granulated sugar at markets and shops in Pontianak and its surrounding areas. Where it can be found, prices are much higher: what used to cost Rp11,000-12,000 per kilogram now sells for more than Rp16,000. In the hinterlands of West Kalimantan, it's Rp20,000.

The region's sugar stocks have actually been exhausted since September 16, according to Syarif Usman Almuthahar, chair of the West Kalimantan