Supply Disruption Pushes Bird's Eye Chilli Prices in Jayapura to Rp 150,000

JAYAPURA – Prices of the key kitchen spice, bird’s eye chilli, in Jayapura city’s traditional markets have become increasingly uncontrollable following the Eid al-Fitr holidays. At Hamadi Central Market, prices of this essential ingredient have been observed to spike sharply, reaching Rp 150,000 per kilogram. This significant price surge is strongly suspected to be triggered by hampered supplies from local farmers and the interruption of distribution chains from outside the Papua region due to weather factors. Normally, bird’s eye chilli prices in Jayapura are stable at around Rp 80,000 per kilogram. In addition to local production issues, distribution of chillies from major supplying areas such as Makassar and Surabaya has been reported as completely halted. This is caused by flooding disasters affecting those regions, resulting in major logistical challenges for shipments to Papua. Yani added that this uncontrollable price situation has actually been felt since leading up to last Eid. Even at the peak of demand, bird’s eye chilli prices once reached fantastic figures of Rp 170,000 to Rp 180,000 per kilogram. “The prices have dropped a bit now; last week during Eid entry, they reached Rp 180,000 per kilogram. That was the highest so far,” she explained. “If local stocks are available, prices are expected to start falling. The estimate is that prices could reach Rp 100,000 per kilogram,” she concluded. Although bird’s eye chilli prices have skyrocketed, several other food commodities are observed to be relatively stable, such as tomatoes at Rp 10,000 per kg, shallots at Rp 65,000 per kg, garlic at Rp 50,000 per kg, large red chillies at Rp 70,000 per kg, and spring onions at Rp 60,000 per kilogram.