Hargai Cabai Rawit Merah Tembus Rp100,000 Per Kg, Bapanas Expressing The Cause

Food inflation (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The price of red cayenne pepper on the market is getting more expensive, currently it ranges from Rp. 90,000 to Rp. 100,000 per kilogram (kg). The reason is the high price of chili is due to declining harvests.

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi said the high price of red cayenne pepper is currently due to the decrease in the number of penan in several regions.

"So if it's chili, the horticultural products are actually a challenge, if the harvest is shortage, then the price will be high," he said when met in Jakarta, Sunday, July 28.

Therefore, Arief said that his party provided a solution by facilitating the distribution of chilies from several areas with high production.

"One solution is to facilitate distribution from several regions where production is still high," he explained.

Even so, Arief wants in the future several horticultural products to have a longer shelf life. Therefore, his party will regulate chili production with stakeholders, especially the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan).

"So the most correct thing is that we arrange production, together with the Minister of Agriculture, especially the Director General of Horticulture, for chili. Badanas can't stand alone, but together with all stakeholders," he explained.

For your information, previously the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that the supply of red chili pepper was indeed decreasing compared to the previous month. According to the Ministry of Agriculture's records, the production of red cayenne pepper in July was 125,036 tons, while in June there were 138,784 tons.

The cause of drought that occurred in a number of chili production centers, thus reducing production results. For example, in Lamongan Regency from May to June there was no rain so that plants experienced drought due to water shortages of almost 90 percent.