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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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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.
As of Friday, imported soybean prices had reached Rp 12,800 (89 US cents) per kilogram, up by 11.30 percent from last year, and 26.73 percent higher than in 2020, Trade Ministry data show. Producers usually bought soybeans at around Rp 8,000 per kg in pre-pandemic times.
This trend was in line with surging international soybean prices that hit $16.02 per bushel on Feb. 18, up by 15.74 percent from last year, according to Business Insider data. The figure was also the highest since May 12, 2021, at $16.66 per bushel.
The Trade Ministry said on Feb. 15 that it expected prices to continue soaring until May this year, but promised to maintain stability.
With producers on strike, consumers in many cities and regencies in Java took to Twitter to complain about being unable to find tofu and tempeh in traditional markets or their neighborhood grocery peddlers.
Tofu and tempeh have also reportedly disappeared from the menus of some street vendors, warung (food stalls) and warteg (food stalls serving Javanese food).
Read also: How to escape from the soybean import trap
Trade Minister M. Lutfi blamed the skyrocketing soybean price on bad weather caused by El Nino in South America, which disrupted production.
He also pointed to increased demand from China, which has switched to using soybeans as feedstock for around 5 billion pigs.
“Now we are preparing mitigation measures. We will announce the policy early next week,” Lutfi said on Sunday as quoted by Antaranews.com.
Trade Ministry Domestic Trade Director General Oke Nurwan said in a statement on Friday that the price hike was also triggered by rising US inflation, which has reached 7 percent. He said the rise in production input costs, land costs and weather uncertainty compelled US soybean farmers to raise prices.
He estimated that soybean prices would hit up to $15.79 per bushel, but would decline to $15.74 per bushel in two months, which meant that the price hike in tofu and tempeh is likely to continue until then.
