Chili Prices Rise During Ramadan 2025, The Government Calls Supply Disturbed By Rain

A trader sorts cayenne pepper at Mardika Market, Ambon City, Maluku Province. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi revealed that the supply of chili to the market experienced obstacles due to high rainfall. This condition disrupted the distribution, so that chili prices experienced a spike during Ramadan 2025.

Chili supply is predicted to return to normal in the second to third week of March 2025.

"We all maintain prices both upstream and downstream. In accordance with the direction of the President, farmers and breeders must not lose money, but the community must also get a fair price," said Arief Prasetyo Adi.

Based on data from the Bapanas food price panel, the national average price of red cayenne pepper reaches IDR 82,499 per kilogram. Meanwhile, the need for cayenne pepper in Ramadan is projected to increase by 13.52% to around 85,200 tons throughout March 2025.

Arief emphasized the importance of government food reserves (CPP) in maintaining food price stability, including chilies. He said President Prabowo Subianto was likely to immediately instruct the construction of cold storage in big cities to store food stocks, including frozen meat.

"Cold storage is important to maintain stock availability, so if there is price fluctuation, the government can immediately intervene," he explained.

In addition, Arief also highlighted Indonesia's food security which is still better than neighboring countries.

"We should be grateful. Currently, Malaysia is experiencing a rice crisis, while Indonesia still has rice reserves of up to 1.9 million tons. With this amount, the government has the flexibility to control prices," he said.

With this strategy, the government hopes that food prices, especially chilies, can return to stability during Ramadan 2025, so that people are not burdened by the surge in basic food prices.