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Tofu, tempeh producers go on strike over high soybean prices
Producers across Java have decided to stop production for three days starting this Monday.
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Tofu and tempeh producers in Depok, West Java, stage a protest over high soybean prices on Feb 21, 2022. (Tofu, tempeh producer Paguyuban Dadi Rukun/Gimin)
T
ofu and tempeh producers across Java have decided to stop production for three days starting on Monday in protest at the high price of imported soybeans, resulting in scarcities of the two staple foods.
In Depok, West Java, producers from the Paguyuban Dadi Rukun association, protested the high prices by piling up production equipment, including drums and kerei boards, on the city streets as they emptied out their factories.
“We are on strike because we can no longer sell tofu and tempeh with the price of raw materials rising so sharply,” said association chair Rasjani in a statement.
The association urged the government to control soybean prices as many producers had either closed shop or were at risk of going out of business. Indonesian tempeh and tofu producers source around 90 percent of their soybeans from the United States.
Producers from at least three other regencies in West Java, namely Bandung, Purwakarta and Bekasi, have also joined the strike. Similar protests have also been made by producers in East Java, Central Java, Banten and Jakarta provinces.
Read also: Soybean prices expected to rise until May
US soybean prices have been rising in recent months mainly following downgraded output forecasts from soybean-producing South American countries, particularly from top producer Brazil, due to bad weather.
