When Chillies Cost More Than Meat, Bank Indonesia Speaks Out
Bank Indonesia (BI) has revealed that food inflation factors can cause chilli prices to become more expensive than meat. This phenomenon often occurs in certain regions of Indonesia.
Deputy Senior Governor of Bank Indonesia Destry Damayanti stated that the phenomenon of chilli prices surpassing meat prices at certain times arises due to volatile food inflation. "Inflation must be viewed from its source. There is a source of inflation caused by food, called volatile food inflation. Regarding food, there are times when the price of chillies can exceed the price of meat. Common sense asks, how can chillies be more expensive than meat? Is there no stock? Or what?" she said during the CNBC Indonesia Economic Update 2026, quoted on Wednesday (24/6/2026).
She acknowledged the phenomenon. However, to prevent it from persisting, BI is actively working to ensure that regions, especially those with BI representative offices, can minimise the impact of volatile food inflation. "So, Bank Indonesia has a programme that collaborates between 46 representative offices across Indonesia and local governments and institutions to address several national issues, one of which is handling inflation, particularly food inflation," she continued.
In this collaboration, BI acts as an advisor, providing input to local governments regarding the sources of inflation so that regional inflation rates can be minimised. "We act as an advisor giving input to local governments, and we also look at what the source of inflation is in that area. If it is food, for example, Bank Indonesia, together with others, helps whether farmers need assistance with smart farming or various other things, such as empowering local MSMEs," she explained.
According to her, BI is present to maintain stability to support sustainable economic growth, especially in the regions. "This means we maintain stability, but it does not mean we ignore growth. Therefore, growth, apart from the macroprudential policies we implement, is also driven by regional economic policies, where we optimise the presence of our 46 regional offices and 5 overseas branch offices," she said.
Furthermore, BI strives to empower local communities. The central bank continuously seeks ways to bring Indonesian agricultural products to the international market. "We also look for potential to go global, and we will collaborate with our overseas offices to find suitable buyers globally," she concluded.