Chili Prices In Banjarmasin Skyrocket, One Kilogram Reaches Rp150.000

Illustration/Antara

BANJARMASIN - The price of various vegetables, especially chili peppers at daily markets in Banjarmasin City, the capital of South Kalimantan Province, reached Rp150,000 per kilogram.

"The normal price of cayenne pepper is an average of Rp80,000 per kilogram, but now it has risen to Rp150,000 per kilogram," a trader said, nicknamed Utuh, in Banjarmasin, as reported by Antara, Monday, January 10.

The high price of local cayenne pepper is influenced by the increasingly difficult chili harvest after a long period of continuous rain, so that a lot of water inundates the plantation or chili farming land which causes the plants to wither and die.

Not only land that is submerged, but also dry land, the harvest is affected by the rainy weather, so many crops fail.

Local cayenne pepper is indeed loved by many people, because of its high level of spiciness, besides that, it also tastes better, said the trader.

While large cayenne pepper or what is called lombok tiung can still be affordable at around Rp80 thousand per kilogram, and that is also more expensive than the normal price which is only around Rp40 thousand per kilogram.

Large cayenne pepper is a bit cheaper than local cayenne pepper because it is less spicy, and mostly imported from Java.

Not only chili is expensive but other local vegetables have also soared due to the submerged land, for example eggplant areca nut or small eggplant which used to be Rp10 thousand per kilogram, now Rp15 thousand per kilogram.

Large eggplants that are purple in color are Rp10,000 per kilogram, usually Rp8,000 per kilogram, cassava leaves which used to be Rp1000 per bunch are now Rp2000 per bunch, spinach has also become Rp2000 per bunch from the usual Rp1000 per bunch.

Shallots, which are generally imported from Java, do not seem to have much effect on prices because they are still in the range of Rp26 thousand per kilogram.