Garlic Prices Soar, Home Affairs Ministry Scrutinises Import Realisation

Ministry of Home Affairs Secretary General Tomsi Tohir has assessed that the continuing upward trend in garlic prices this month is linked to the realisation of imports. “The problem here is the low realisation of garlic imports,” Tomsi said during a regional inflation coordination meeting on Monday, 20 July 2026. The statement was made after Tomsi received a report on garlic price developments from the Ministry of Trade. Tomsi noted that the price increase is indeed related to global factors, namely the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate and the Middle East conflict, which has caused the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a trade route. However, according to Tomsi, the price hike is also connected to the realisation of imports for this food commodity. He requested the Ministry of Trade to check whether importers have realised purchases of at least 50 percent of their allocated quotas. “Because this is already July. Why are they holding back? They should have already brought in 50 percent of the goods to Indonesia,” Tomsi stated. Data from the Ministry of Trade recorded that the average national price of honan garlic stood at Rp 38,858 per kilogram on 17 July 2026. The price rose by 0.60 percent compared to the same period last month. Price increases also occurred in the Maluku and Papua regions by 0.54 percent. The average price of garlic in that region reached Rp 64,028 per kilogram, or 60.07 percent higher than the reference price set at Rp 40,000 per kilogram. Associate Expert Trade Analyst at the Directorate of Domestic Market Development, Ministry of Trade, Neni Dwi Prehati, stated that the Ministry has been and continues to coordinate with the Directorate of Foreign Trade regarding the garlic price increase. This coordination primarily concerns the opportunity to add entry ports in the eastern region. “It is hoped this can suppress garlic prices in the eastern region, which remain above the reference price,” Neni said during the regional inflation coordination meeting.