Badanas: Chili Prices Are Expensive Due To Extreme Weather That Causes Production Reduction

JAKARTA - The National Food Agency (Bapanas) said the soaring price of chili was due to extreme weather in a number of central areas, causing a decline in production.

Director of Food Supply Stabilization and Price of Bapanas Maino Dwi Hartono said the price of red cayenne pepper in Tanimbar Islands Regency, Maluku reached IDR 160 thousand per kilogram. This price is up 180.7 percent above the government's reference price (HAP).

"One of the increase in red cayenne pepper is mainly due to extreme weather factors, be it high rainfall, some planting areas are flooded and maybe because of the wind and pest attacks, so that production or supply to the community has decreased," Maino said at the 2025 Regional Inflation Coordination Meeting, in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 13.

Based on data from the second week of the Food Price Panel (5-11 January 2025), the increase in the price of red cayenne pepper above HAP occurred in 326 districts/cities.

Maino said that his party will continue to monitor in the next week. According to him, if it is found that the price is still high, then Badanas will carry out a number of policies.

The steps to be taken are to provide transportation subsidies, facilitate food distribution and carry out low-cost food movements.

"However, we need to be careful because we are mobilizing the situation, chilies from the central area or the Jabodetabek production area in particular, do not disturb other areas," he said.

It is known that the activist of the Indonesian Chili Agribusiness Association (AACI) of Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java, Teguh Suprapto estimates that the price of red cayenne pepper will soon fall in the next one to two weeks.

"That's because supplies are starting to exist, safe lowland areas such as Kediri and several areas of East Java are starting to harvest," said Teguh Suprapto in Banjarnegara, Monday.

He admitted that in the last few weeks there has been an increase in the price of various types of chilies at the farmer level which has an impact on price spikes in the market.

In this case, the price of red cayenne pepper at the farmer level in the second week of January 2025 ranges from IDR 70,000 to IDR 75,000 per kilogram, while the price of curly red chili produced by farmers in the area above Banjarnegara reaches IDR 55,000/kg.