Food Price Update: Red Bird's Eye Chilli and Chicken Meat Prices Fall

Trends in two strategic food commodities—red bird’s eye chilli and broiler chicken—showed significant national price declines at the beginning of March 2026. Based on data from the National Food Agency’s (Bapanas) Food Price Panel, distribution intervention efforts are beginning to yield results in suppressing consumer-level prices.

Bapanas data for the period 23 February to 1 March 2026 recorded consistent price corrections for red bird’s eye chilli. On 23 February 2026, prices were recorded at Rp77,645 per kilogramme, then declined gradually to Rp70,953 per kilogramme on 1 March 2026. Cumulatively, this represents a decline of approximately 8.62 per cent over one week.

This downward trend was driven by improvements in the supply chain through the “chilli surge” campaign, involving collaboration between champion farmers supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Bapanas through the Food Distribution Facilitation (FDP) scheme.

Broiler chicken meat, meanwhile, remained far more stable with a slight downward tendency. On 23 February 2026, prices stood at Rp41,293 per kilogramme and moved down to Rp40,767 per kilogramme on 1 March 2026, representing a correction of approximately 1.27 per cent.

Bapanas Head Andi Amran Sulaiman affirmed that this achievement resulted from cross-agency coordination and strict oversight by the Food Violation Task Force (Satgas Saber).

“Alhamdulillah, red bird’s eye chilli and chicken meat prices show a downward trend. This is the fruit of joint work, both from the supply side and distribution oversight. Market inspections will continue, and business operators must not manipulate food prices,” Amran stated firmly.

Market inspection results on 28 February 2026 showed price variations that began approaching or even falling below the Government Price Reference (HAP). Despite some regions such as East Java and Banten still recording chilli prices in the range of Rp80,000 to Rp100,000 per kilogramme, the government remains optimistic that price pressure will continue to decrease as national distribution improves.

With price declines in these two vital commodities, the government targets maintaining food inflation stability at a safe level. The forward focus is ensuring farmers and livestock breeders continue to earn healthy profit margins, whilst the public can access food at fair prices.

“The state is present to ensure this balance. We want distribution to run fairly for all parties,” Amran concluded.