Indonesia raw chili prices hit Rp95,800 per kg

Budi said the increase is not broad-based across all chili varieties. He said red chili and several other types remain normal, with some still below the government’s highest retail price ceiling, or HET, suggesting the shock is concentrated in raw chili rather than a systemwide food shortage.

The latest reading from Bank Indonesia’s Strategic Food Price Information Center shows raw chili near the psychologically important Rp100,000 threshold. The move comes as policymakers continue to monitor food prices alongside other staples, with Budi saying conditions at Pasar Prambanan remain under control.

For investors, the story is a reminder that weather-driven food inflation can reappear even when headline price pressures elsewhere look contained. Higher produce costs can complicate the policy backdrop, hit consumer purchasing power and raise risks for food makers, retailers and restaurant operators if the increase spreads beyond a single crop.

The key question now is whether the dry season eases and supply recovers fast enough to pull prices back, or whether the current spike becomes another short-term inflation flare-up that keeps food markets volatile into the next crop cycle.