Hot Chilli

The abnormality of chili price these days surely has got the country talking. In some areas, the price of chilli has reached IDR 100.000/kg mark, while in places outside Java, the price surged up to IDR 250.000/kg.

One thing that caused the situation is the unbalanced level of supply and demand. The extreme rainy season from December 2016 to January 2017 surely caused chilli production to be lower than usual. Although farmers have followed government’s instruction to plant a certain amount of chilli for the early year demand, the weather was simply not allowing. We all know how bad it is the rainy season for crops, including chilli.

From our observation, the price of chilli among farmers is around IDR 50.000 – IDR 60.000/kg. If that is the case, normally it would reach the buyer in around IDR 80.000/kg. There surely is some speculation happening too that plays role in the surging price of chilli.

On top of that, the government has been pretty strict in not importing chilli to fulfill our local demand. However, it is expected that in early February 2017, the price of chilli will be normalized. It is due to sufficient production of chilli from some areas like Banyuwangi, Kediri, Malang, Blitar and Temanggung.

What are your thoughts on the surging price of chilli?

We will be sharing some tips to grow your own chilli at home in our next article this week, so hopefully you can save some money on chilli in the near future.