JAKARTA - Tofu producers in Aceh admit to reducing production by 50 percent due to the high price of soybeans, which are the raw materials for traditional foods.
Secretary of the Aceh Tofu Tempe Association, Mulizar, said that apart from the high price, soybeans were also difficult to obtain, so production had to be reduced.
"In the past, we could spend up to 600 kilograms of soybeans for a day's production. Now it's reduced to 300 kilograms. This reduction of up to 50 percent is because soybeans are difficult to obtain," said Mulizar, in Banda Aceh, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, February 22.
Mulizar said the current soybean price reached Rp11,500 per kilogram. The price has not gone down since the last year. Prices continue to soar up, which used to be in the range of Rp. 10 thousand.
Apart from soybeans, the reduction in production is also due to the weakening of people's purchasing power for tofu. This condition is exacerbated by the scarcity and high cost of cooking oil on the market.
"If there is a lot of production, later this year no one will buy it. Manufacturers must be able to work around this by producing enough tofu," said Mulizar.
Regarding the price of tofu, he said that the craftsmen could not simply increase it. Moreover, the condition of people's purchasing power is weakening.
"If the price is raised, no one buys it. The price of tofu is now Rp. 120 per board. In one board, more than 100 pieces of tofu can be cut, depending on the size," he said.
Related to this condition, Mulizar said that a number of tofu businesses in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar have stopped their production. However, there are also those who survive in improvised conditions.
"Like me, my tofu business still survives because I care about the fate of the workers. If the business is closed and production is stopped, they will certainly lose their jobs. However, if this condition lasts for a long time, it is not impossible, the tofu production will stop," said Mulizar.
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