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Tempeh tipped to be Indonesia’s next big export to US as market for meat alternatives grows
Arifi Salman, Indonesian consul general in New York, said that as the US meat supply chain had been disrupted by the unfolding pandemic, there was potential to boost sales of tempeh products in the country.
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'Tempe mendoan' (battered thinly sliced tempeh) (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
T
empeh, a traditional Indonesian soybean-based culinary product, has potential to be the country’s next big export to the United States during the health crisis as the market for meat alternatives continues to grow, government officials and businesspeople have said.
Arifi Salman, Indonesian consul general in New York, said that as the US meat supply chain had been disrupted by the unfolding pandemic, there was potential to boost sales of tempeh products in the country.
He noted that sales of meat alternative products had increased 53 percent month-to-month (mtm) from April to May, according to data compiled by the consulate.
“There has been significant growth in [meat alternative] sales because of the disruption to the meat supply chain caused by the pandemic. However, tempeh also has long-term potential, as Americans have become more concerned with their health,” he said on July 17, during an online webinar held by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).
The pandemic has put pressure on global trade and supply chains, with businesses shutting to comply with social restrictions and in response to outbreaks at manufacturing facilities. The World Trade Organization has projected trade to fall 18.5 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the second quarter.
In the US, the COVID-19 outbreak has taken a heavy toll on workers in the country’s meat and poultry processing facilities, with more than 17,000 COVID-19 cases and 91 deaths recorded at processing plants in 23 states between April and May 2020, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report states.
Consequently, daily pork production was down by as much as 45 percent in late April as some 20 plants closed because of outbreaks. Production has rebounded after plants reopened last month but remains low compared to the pre-pandemic level, according to Reuters.
