Jakarta (ANTARA) - Perum Bulog president director Ahmad Rizal\nRamdhani will immediately coordinate with traders and relevant\nassociations following the discovery of red cayenne pepper prices\nreaching Rp140,000 per kilogram at Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta, in an\neffort to restore price stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will coordinate with chilli traders and chilli associations so\nthat prices can be brought down. Hopefully they will return to standard\nlevels ahead of Lebaran,\u201d Rizal said when contacted in Jakarta on\nSaturday (21\/2).<\/p>\n
Previously, Rizal together with the Food Task Force conducted a\nsurprise inspection at Pasar Minggu on Friday (20\/2). During the\ninspection, Rizal and his team checked stocks and prices of commodities\nincluding rice, subsidised cooking oil under the MinyaKita brand, and\nsugar.<\/p>\n
During the visit, Rizal also checked prices of other strategic food\nitems such as shallots, garlic, chicken, beef, as well as curly red\nchillies and red cayenne peppers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed, from the inspection results, there are several things that\nrequire our attention. The first is chillies, I must say. Chilli prices\nhave risen somewhat due to the rainy season. Curly red chillies, which\nnormally cost only Rp50,000 per kilogram, have risen to Rp60,000 per\nkilogram,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rizal assessed the chilli price increase as still reasonable, as\ncontinuous rainfall over the past week had disrupted supply and made it\ndifficult for distributors to prepare stock, pushing prices up by around\nRp10,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, red cayenne peppers have also experienced an increase of\naround Rp20,000,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
In response, his office will promptly coordinate with chilli traders\nand associations to push prices back to normal levels ahead of\nLebaran.<\/p>\n
Red cayenne pepper prices at Pasar Minggu have breached Rp140,000 per\nkilogram over the past two days, up from the normal range of Rp90,000 to\nRp100,000 per kilogram before Ramadan.<\/p>\n
Sarjono, a trader at the market, said the surge had occurred since\nthe start of the fasting month. Clean-picked red cayenne peppers without\nstems were selling at Rp140,000, whereas previously the highest price\nwas only around Rp90,000.<\/p>\n
He explained that the increase was driven by weather factors. The\nrainy season has made farmers reluctant to harvest due to the risk of\ncrop damage, reducing supply while market demand remains high.<\/p>\n
For curly red chillies, prices now stand at Rp80,000 per kilogram, up\nfrom around Rp60,000 previously. Sarjono estimated prices could fall\nwithin one to two weeks before fluctuating again as Lebaran\napproaches.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, large shallots are selling at Rp60,000 per kilogram and\nsmall ones at Rp35,000, while garlic prices remain relatively stable at\naround Rp40,000 per kilogram.<\/p>\n
Another Pasar Minggu trader, Komaria, said curly red chilli prices\nhad risen to Rp60,000 per kilogram from Rp50,000 previously, in line\nwith increasing prices since the onset of the rainy season.<\/p>\n
For red cayenne peppers, she reported prices had surged from\nRp100,000 to Rp130,000 per kilogram in recent days due to reduced\nsupply.<\/p>\n
According to Komaria, the increase was triggered by weather factors,\nas the rainy season has disrupted distribution from wholesale markets,\ncausing stocks at the retail level to thin out.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, shallot prices remain normal at around Rp55,000 per\nkilogram and other vegetable commodities are stable, with only chillies\nexperiencing a significant surge.<\/p>\n
Previously, the Ministry of Agriculture together with chilli supply\nchampions carried out a Chilli Supply Flood Action Programme at Kramat\nJati Wholesale Market in Jakarta, as a price intervention effort to\nbring prices back within the reasonable limits set by the\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis step was taken following the increase in chilli prices,\nparticularly red cayenne peppers, due to a surge in demand ahead of a\nperiod of high consumption, while some production centres are\nexperiencing harvest gaps due to weather factors and public holidays,\u201d\nsaid Director General of Horticulture at the Ministry of Agriculture,\nMuhammad Taufiq Ratule, in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday\n(19\/2).<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bulog-chief-to-coordinate-with-associations-over-chilli-prices-reaching-rp140-000-kg-1771725197", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }