TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Meager market intervention fails to lower chili price
Change Size
A vendor piles red chilis in his kiosk at Idi Rayeuk Market in East Aceh, Aceh, on Sept. 4. (Antara/Syifa Yulinnas)
S
tate-run trading firm PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia (PT PPI) has only distributed about one ton of mixed chili from a total of 101 tons needed daily to suffice Jakarta’s demand for the hot ingredient.
The small amount of chili sold at a fair price by PPI last month failed to ease the surging price of bird’s eye chili. Price increases started in November following a bad harvest during the rainy season.
“We could only distribute a small amount [of chili] because of bad harvests in the provinces. We’ve done our best, including bringing in the chili by plane for faster distribution,” said PPI director Trisilo Ari Setyawan during visit to the Rawamangun traditional market on Thursday.
(Read also: Chili price reaches Rp 140,000 per kg in Jakarta)
The air distribution system is expected to prevent chilis from immediately rotting, he added.
The firm sells bird’s eye chili at around Rp 70,000 (US$5.22) per kg.
The commodity price surged steadily up to Rp 140,000 per kg in Jakarta on Thursday from Rp 71,250 per kg on Nov. 11.
The price hikes are way over the ceiling price recommended by the government at Rp 29,000 per kg.
State logistics firm Bulog has also helped distribute lower priced chili for the past two weeks.
However, its operational and public services director Karyawan “Wawan” Gunarso said the amount was not enough due to a limited harvest in the regions. (bbn)
