The ministry's Director General of Horticulture Suwandi is confident of stability both in the supply and pricing of both commodities, with the harvesting season in full swing from May to June.
"Presently, farmers in Semarang (Central Java) have begun harvesting red chili on land measuring 500 hectares and chili pepper on 350 hectares of land in May. This will continue until June and be ready to be supplied to Jakarta's market," Suwandi noted in a statement here on Thursday.
According to Suwandi's market observation, the price of chili peppers at the farmers' level had touched Rp15 thousand per kilogram, while curly red chili pepper cost Rp10,500 per kilogram, thereby indicating an around 30 percent disparity in the pricing as compared to the consumers' price in Jakarta.
Suwandi pointed out that the agriculture and trade ministries had made assurance that the supply of garlic would normalize after a consent letter for imports was issued for some importers.
The government has plans on importing 115 thousand tons of garlic to cater to the demand in the subsequent three months.
On the contrary, onion supplies have returned to normal and priced at under Rp20 thousand per kilogram since some key producing areas, including Brebes, Nganjuk, Demak, Grobogan, and Bima, had entered the harvesting season.
The prices of chili, onion, and garlic are stable in the Kramat Jati main market in East Jakarta.
Penerjemah: Mentari Dwi G, Sri Haryati
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
