Chili Prices Soar, Minister Blames Traders
21 July 2014 20:12 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Agriculture Minister Suswono was infuriated with the high price of chilies in the market that are inversely proportional to the low price of chilies at the farmer level. The price of chilies in farmers' market is recorded to be around Rp 3,000 per kilogram while the price of chilies in traditional markets soars to tens of thousands of rupiahs per kilogram.
In Klender Market, East Jakarta, for example, the price of chilies reaches up to Rp 18,000 per kilogram. "Farmers clearly suffer great losses while traders are being unfair," said Suswono on Monday, July 21, 2014.
According to Suswono, there is an excessive supply of chilies at the farmer level, causing a drastic drop in selling price. Nevertheless, traders continue to increase the price. "Farmers suffer losses. Consumers obtain high goods because traders sell them three times of its supposed price," he said.
On the other hand, Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said that the increasing price of chilies was caused by increasing demands. He added that the increased price is still under the government's reference limit, which is Rp 28,000 per kilogram for red cayenne pepper and Rp 26,000 per kilogram for red pepper.
AYU PRIMA SANDI