Currently, the country's only soybean importers include U.S.-based Cargill, PT Teluk Intan, PT Gunung Sewu and PT Liong Seng.

The companies import about 1.3 million tons of soybean per year to meet the country's 2-million-ton consumption need.

"The government will strive to reduce soybean prices, including by adding the number of importers if it's possible," Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono said Wednesday.

"For now, the government has eliminated the 10 percent import duty on soybeans to curb the surging price of the commodity."

The global price of soybeans reached its highest point in the last 34 years, US$13,1052 per bushel, on Dec. 28, 2007.

This was from $12,90 per bushel on June 5, 1973, Bloomberg reported.

The price of imported soybeans in Indonesia reached $600 per ton this week, almost a 100 percent increase from $351 per ton in January last year.

The rising prices have caused resentment among tofu and tempeh producers, who use soybeans as their main raw material.

Rising global prices have contributed to domestic prices but lawmaker Didik Rachbini also warned of a possible cartel-like practice within industry players.

Didik said this situation should be investigated by the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU).

He said the four companies given the authority to import soybeans had much control over the price of the commodity.

Didik also said the government could apply a fluctuating import tariff system "by decreasing the tariff when the prices were low and vice versa to control the price of soybeans".

Bank Indonesia's senior deputy governor Miranda Goeltom said although the surging price of soybeans might trigger inflationary pressure in January and beyond, "it does not mean that the full-year inflation will be higher than the previous year".

The country's inflation figure last year was 6.59 percent, slightly lower than the 6.6 percent recorded in 2006.

Some 2.82 percent of 2007's inflation was a result of the price of staple foodstuffs.

Miranda said in the past 10 years, inflation in January had been always above 1 percent.

Last year, January's inflation rate was 1.04 percent, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Under the 2008 state budget, the government expects the country's inflation in 2008 to sit at 6 percent.

To achieve this, the government has established a coordinating forum to control inflation, whose job is also to ensure the price of staple foodstuffs remains stable. (adt/alf)

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