Good News For Tofu And Tempe Producers, The Government Is Preparing Soybean Subsidies

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government plans to provide assistance to tofu and tempeh producers in the form of soybean subsidies. This is so that the craftsmen can get soybeans at an affordable price. The policy is a response to the current high price of soybeans.

Assistant Deputy for Food of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, Saifulloh said that the aid formula was still under discussion with the relevant ministries. The assistance is provided as a form of short-term measures.

"In the short term, the government through the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Finance and the National Food Agency, and Perum BULOG are discussing the formula for providing assistance to tofu and tempeh craftsmen," he said when contacted by VOI, Thursday, February 24.

The reason the aid is given in the short term, said Saifulloh, is because it departs from the assumption that there will be no extreme weather, so that the world's soybean supply will improve again in July 2022. The assistance that will be given later can be in the form of subsidies or replacement of price differences.

"This is just a matter of terminology and choice of diction," added Saifulloh.

For your information, the plan to provide assistance is a follow-up to President Joko Widodo's directives in a limited meeting with a number of related ministries on the issue of soybean prices at the Palace on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.

The Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, continued Saifulloh, is tasked with coordinating policies related to stock supply and stabilization of soybean prices for tofu and tempeh producers so that they can continue to produce.

Without providing assistance, said Saifulloh, the Ministry of Agriculture is also focusing on providing or meeting domestic needs through planting 50 thousand hectares of land which has signed an MoU between farmers and Gakoptindo.

Long term steps

Saifulloh said that the long-term steps taken to overcome soybean problems were the Ministry of Agriculture to focus on increasing soybean production and productivity of local farmers.

"Planting programs in a number of strategic areas as soybean producers have been initiated, accompanied by policies to support production and post-harvest facilities and infrastructure as well as financing through KUR," he said.

Furthermore, Saifulloh also emphasized that the government will continue to monitor the increase in soybean prices in the global market which has an impact on the increase in prices for tofu and tempeh raw materials at the craftsman level.

"(However, admittedly) the increase in soybean prices in the international market was caused by a significant increase in soybean demand by China to meet animal feed needs and the disruption of soybean production in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil," he said.