MBG Programme Resumes, Chicken Meat Prices in Medan Soar

The price of fresh chicken meat has seen a significant spike in several traditional markets in Medan and surrounding areas. The price increase coincides with the resumption of the MBG programme following the long school holidays. In the Deli Serdang region, the price of chicken meat, which was previously around Rp30,000 per kilogram, has now risen to Rp32,000 per kilogram. A similar trend is occurring in Medan city. Data from the Strategic Food Price Information Centre (PIHPS) shows the price of chicken meat at Sukaramai Market jumped from Rp31,500 on 10 July to Rp33,500 per kilogram on Monday, 13 July 2026. Economist Gunawan Benjamin from the Islamic University of North Sumatra (UISU) assessed that the price increase is purely driven by a surge in demand, not by supply constraints. “When talking about supply or stock, I basically see no change. The stock of live chickens over the past month has been observed to be stable,” he stated on Monday (13/7). He therefore confirmed that the increase in chicken meat prices is a result of rising demand as the MBG programme resumes. According to Gunawan, chicken meat still dominates the menu in the MBG programme, especially at the start of the new school year. Although burdensome for consumers, he sees the price increase as having a positive impact on farmers who have long been pressured by high global feed prices following the Iran-US conflict. He projects that price pressures will continue in the near term. This is because the month of Muharram will end on 15 July, which is usually followed by increased social activities that trigger a surge in demand. Besides chicken meat, the price of cayenne pepper has also recorded a sharp increase. In Deli Serdang, the price of cayenne pepper reached Rp80,000 per kilogram. Based on PIHPS monitoring at Sukaramai Market in Medan, the price of green cayenne pepper is around Rp65,000 per kilogram. However, unlike chicken meat, Gunawan assessed that the increase in cayenne pepper prices is more due to supply constraints, rather than purely high demand. “I see that the supply of cayenne pepper is not as much as on normal days,” he said. Regarding the increase in rice prices over the past week, which has even triggered purchase restrictions in several modern retailers, Gunawan sees the main problem lying on the supply side. “For rice, the supply has indeed decreased. Meanwhile, demand tends to be sloping,” he concluded.