Coinciding with Bali’s rainy season, the price of chili peppers and other products has increased, including celery that now costs Rp. 50,000 per kilogram that formerly cost only Rp. 15,000 per kilogram. Also costing substantially more are broccoli selling at Rp. 50,000 kilogram and pok coy for Rp. 25,000 per kilogram.
These prices were recorded in the Badung Market in Denpasar on Thursday, 16 December 2021.
NusaBali.com reports that prices for local produce began to rise dramatically over the past week.
Market managers also repost that Choy Sium has increased from Rp. 7,000 to Rp. 20,000 per kilogram Meanwhile, the cost of long beans, water spinach (kangkung), carrots, and potatoes has increased by around Rp. 2,000 per kilogram.
The increase in produce prices follows a yearly cycle that is literally “precipitated” by the rainy season in Bali. Heavy rains complicate efforts to harvest crops.
Shoppers at traditional markets in Bali will typically purchase alternative products when a specific item experience a sudden price increase. Other items, such as rice and chilis, are viewed as essential and essential parts of the local diet.
Meanwhile, noodle (mie) traders who must use Choy Sium in preparing their menus are left with little choice but to increase their prices or learn to survive on smaller profit margins.
In the face of higher prices and uncertain consumer demand, market traders purchase smaller quantities of produce from farmers, concerned that large inventories of more expensive produce will remain unsold.
Chili peppers are an essential part of the Indonesian diet and were selling in traditional markets in Bali on Thursday, 16 December 2021, at the very high price of Rp. 80,000 per kilogram. Market observers project that the price of a kilogram of chilis will pass the Rp. 100,000 per kilogram during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday period.
