Suara.com – The price of cayenne pepper has increased from IDR 80 thousand to IDR 100 thousand per kilogram. This increase occurred in the fourth week of February 2024, where one of the contributing factors was reduced supply from local farmers in the area.
“One of the causes of the increase in chili prices is because the supply from farmers to the market is decreasing,” said Head of the Kapuas Hulu Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Trade Service, Agustinus Sargito, regarding the increase in chili prices in his area.
Apart from cayenne pepper, curly red chili also experienced an increase in price from IDR 70 thousand to IDR 90 thousand per kilogram.
Meanwhile, other goods, such as premium rice from outside Kapuas Hulu, also experienced price increases as a result of national prices ranging from IDR 15 thousand to IDR 16 thousand per kilogram.
However, local premium rice has seen its price drop from the third week of February 2024 from IDR 26 thousand per kilogram down to IDR 24 thousand.
“The price increase for some goods is not too significant, it is still reasonable and controllable,” he said, quoted from Antara on Sunday (25/2/2024).
Despite this, Sargito emphasized that his party would continue to supervise and monitor the availability and prices of basic necessities, especially ahead of the month of Ramadan.
“We carry out monitoring and supervision regularly, and to date people's basic needs are still being met. Even though there has been an increase in the prices of certain goods, there have also been decreases,” said Sargito.
Zul, a chili trader, revealed that the price of cayenne pepper has increased due to reduced supply from local farmers. Usually, farmers sell their garden produce to the market, but this time most of it was taken by traders from outside.
“The climate and the possibility of foreign buyers buying directly from farmers are the main factors in increasing chili prices,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zul also stated that other goods, especially rice, were also affected by the national price increase.