The Price Of Shallots In Baturaja, South Sumatra, Drops The Impact Of Drought

BATURAJA - The price of shallots in the traditional Baturaja market, Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU) Regency, South Sumatra fell to reach Rp. 18,000 per kilogram (kg) as a result of the long dry season.

"The current price of shallots is only Rp. 18,000/kg, down compared to the previous Rp. 45,000/kg," said one of the onion traders at Pasar Baru, Ogan, OKU Yanto Regency in Baturaja as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, September 9.

According to him, the price reduction that has occurred since the last few weeks was triggered by the dry season where many supplier farmers from the Java Island area do the main harvest so that the price drops drastically.

"According to information, onion farmers in Java are harvesting, so the selling price at the supplier agent level is currently cheap," he said.

The decline in prices, he said, was accompanied by the supply of shallots in the local market which was very abundant to meet market demand, which is currently quite high in line with the decline in prices.

Likewise, the turnover obtained by traders increased dramatically because many people bought large amounts of shallots for home supplies to meet their daily needs.

"Previously, the most sold onions were 20-25 kg/day. However, since the average drop price sold more than 50 kg every day," he said.

Meanwhile, the Trade Supervisor of the OKU Industry and Trade, Octa Lilyandi separately, said that the decline in the selling price of shallots was due to extreme weather factors where the quality of the harvest decreased due to drought.

According to him, during the dry season, the yield is not satisfactory because apart from experiencing drought, many plants are also affected by pests. This condition forced farmers to sell shallots with the consideration that they could return their crops.

"Based on our monitoring in the traditional Baturaja market, only the price of shallots has fallen, while for garlic the price is still stable in the range of Rp. 40,000/kg," he said.