The skyrocketing price of chili peppers is confounding the nation’s housewives (who have to spend twice as much for the spice), restaurant owners (who are particularly dependent on chili for cooking) and government economic officials (who are worried that the wild swings in the commodity’s price will further increase inflation).
Early last month, the price of red chilis, for example, was on average Rp 25,000 (US$2.60) per kilogram. Since then the price has increased due to a shortage of the commodity in the market. The price now tops Rp 50,000. The government said the average increase nationally was 45.7 percent in June.
Chili peppers are not categorized as staple food commodities, unlike rice, sugar, cooking oil, and eggs. The government may not have anticipated the shortage of this commodity, as it previously anticipated a rice shortage.
But like salt, chili is a vital spice used in nearly every Indonesian dish.
Padang restaurants, whose dishes rely on chilis, have been hit hard by the situation. But households are no less affected by this situation because the increase in the price of chili has been followed by increases in the costs of other commodities.
The media has also reported price increases for rice, onions, tomatoes, eggs and vegetables this month.
Unfortunately, the price increases will likely continue over the next two months due to the coming of Ramadan in the middle of August followed by the Idul Fitri holiday.
Meanwhile, the government is also concerned about the impact of the chili price increase on inflation. “I am confused why the price of chili contributes significantly to inflation,” said Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa on June 14,.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded a cumulative inflation rate from January-June reached 2.42 percent, while this year target is 5.3 percent.
Unfortunately, the government only has limited space to intervene the market to curb the increasing price of chili because, unlike rice, the commodity is perishable and cannot be warehoused.
The chili shortage will not be resolved in the near future because several months are needed to bring a chili crop to harvest. It becomes our shared responsibility to solve the problem.
Customers may help the problem by reducing our consumption of the commodity, which is not nutritious. The government may need to find a way to better anticipate future shortages.
The most important thing is that it is time for the government to pay serious attention to the fate of the
farmers, including how they are affected by commodity price increases.
The government should encourage them to produce more, but farmers also need protection so that the price of chili will not significantly fall during the harvest seasons.
