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Wholesalers arrested for alleged red chili monopoly
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Prime commodity — A vendor piles up red chilies at Idi Rayeuk Market in East Aceh, Aceh. The government and Bank Indonesia have coordinated to tackle weather-related inflationary pressure on volatile foods.
(Antara/Syifa Yulinnas)
T
he National Police have arrested two people for allegedly monopolizing the red chili trade, which they said had contributed to skyrocketing chili prices across Indonesia.
The two suspects, identified only by their initials SJN and SNO, allegedly bought tons of red chilies from suppliers in East Java and sold the commodity to companies across Jakarta at extremely high prices, reaching Rp 181,000 (US$13.53) per kilogram, the police said.
“There are usually 50 tons of chilies sent to Kramat Jati Market in East Jakarta every day, but it turned out that 80 percent of the chilies were sold to companies,” Sr. Comr. Hengki Hariyadi, head of the trade and industry subdirectorate at the National Police’s economic and special crimes directorate, said in Jakarta on Friday.
He explained that during the investigation, the two suspects admitted they had bought chilies and sold them to companies that could pay high prices, creating a scarcity in the market. That was why although the production of red chilies had continued to rise, as confirmed by the Agriculture Ministry, prices tended to increase, he added.
“The companies usually import red chilies, but now they’d rather buy the commodity from local suppliers, emptying chili stocks in the market,” Hengki said. He added that his team had identified six companies involved in monopoly practices and would investigate them further.
Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) prosecution director Goprera Panggabean said even if chili farmers sold the commodity at Rp 70,000 per kg, the price should not be higher than Rp 120,000 at the consumer level. “The margin is too high.” (dis/ebf)
