Jakarta. Indonesia has threatened to remove the business permits of mask-hoarding sellers as parts of the country grapple with volcanic ash spewed by Mount Anak Krakatau. 

The volcanic island, which lies in the Sunda Strait, began spewing lava and ash late Friday before going into a 25-hour continuous eruption. The ash had spread across the capital, Jakarta, even prompting school closures and flight cancellations. It has also fueled mask shortages at local pharmacies and supermarkets. Its price tag has also multiplied.

The Health Ministry has warned producers, distributors, and suppliers against hoarding the masks, citing that such practices can cause significant price hikes.

“In case of violations, we will impose criminal or administrative sanctions [against the businesses]. It can be in the form of warnings or even revoking their business permits," Health Ministry spokesman Aji Muhawarman said on Tuesday.

Despite the price increases, Indonesia is far from being in a mask crisis. He added: “Shortages only occur among retail sellers. We believe that supplies remain sufficient at the producer and distributors.”

He went on to say that the government had distributed masks  — including the more protective KN95 masks — to ash-affected areas, such as Lampung, Banten, West Java, and Jakarta. Aji also said that people shouldn’t worry about using the standard medical masks.

In Jakarta, mask sellers are seeing more orders. Sellers in Jakarta’s Pasar Pramuka can sell up to 150 boxes of masks a day. Masks for hijab wearers now have a price tag of Rp 35,000 ($1.99), up from Rp 25,000 ($1.42). KN95s are also soaring in popularity.

“The five-layered KN95s cost Rp 90,000 [$5.10]. Before [the eruption], hardly anyone asked for this kind of mask, but now people are mostly looking for them,” Ayi, one of the mask sellers, said.

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