JAKARTA - Deputy 1 for the Availability and Stabilization of the National Food Agency, I Gusti Ketut Astawa explained, the availability of soybean stocks is only 7 days old if it refers to the national food balance calculation until the end of November 2022.
However, he ensured that the national soybean stock had a surplus at the end of December 2022.
Ketut emphasized this through his statement, in Jakarta, Wednesday, October 26.
Ketut explained, the stock of soybeans is only 7 days away, not counted per day, but calculated after November 2022, because based on the National Food Balance until the end of November 2022 the stock of soybeans has a surplus of 54,983 tons.
"The 54,983 tonne stock, if divided into an average national daily consumption of 8,191 tons per day, can meet the needs of about 7 days. So the stock of soybeans for 7 days is calculated as of November 2022," he explained.
Ketut explained, based on the calculation of the January-November 2022 prognosis, the final stock of soybeans is estimated to be still in a surplus condition of 54,983 tons, which is the result of calculations from the availability of 2,758,151 tons minus the need during January-November 2022 of 2,703,169 tons.
Taking into account the one month's requirement which is estimated to reach 245,743 tons or 8,191 tons per day, Ketut said that the stock at the end of November of 54,983 tons is estimated to be available for 7 days.
However, Ketut asked the public, especially tofu-tempe craftsmen, not to panic, the government would extend the availability of soybeans in the country.
For this reason, the Food Agency encourages the acceleration of importation to meet the resilience of soybean stocks.
"So we encourage the acceleration of the realization of soybean imports to fulfill and extend the adequacy of soybean stocks," said Ketut.
People Asked Not to Be Worried
Meanwhile, Head of NFA Arief Prasetyo Adi said, with a stock base 7 days after the end of November, his party guaranteed that the stock of soybeans would be sufficient for the next 1.5 months.
For this reason, Arief asked the public not to worry about the availability of soybeans in the market.
Through the realization of imports, Arief also said that based on the Prognosis of the National Food Balance from January to December 2022, soybean commodities are estimated to have a surplus of 250 thousand tons by the end of December 2022.
Importers do plan to import carefully related to fluctuations in the rupiah exchange rate and the price of Soybeans, so they usually plan for 3 to 4 months.
On the other hand, with global trade conditions full of uncertainty and soybean price fluctuations in the international market, Arief also sees that this situation is a momentum to increase domestic soybean production and release dependence on imports.
As is known, President Joko Widodo has directed the Ministry of Agriculture to increase domestic soybean production through the expansion of soybean production land, and the results are purchased at a price of 10,000 rupiah per kg. The existing condition is that farmers cannot plant soybeans if the price is below 10,000 rupiah per kg, because it will lose to the price of imported soybeans which is only around 7,000 rupiah per kg.
"With the determination of the reference price policy, this will attract farmers to be more enthusiastic about producing because the price is regulated so as not to harm farmers. The involvement of food SOEs here is important in the aspect of assignments to buy soybeans from farmers according to the specified price," said Arief.
In terms of business protection for tofu- tempeh craftsmen, the Food Agency has encouraged the re-implementation of the Soybean Purchase Price Distribution Assistance program for Tofu and Tempe craftsmen.
This is to help tofu- tempeh craftsmen to keep producing in the midst of the current surge in soybean commodity prices.
According to Arief, this program is very important and strategic to maintain the productivity and sustainability of the craftsmen' businesses. Through the replacement assistance for the price difference, tofu and tempeh craftsmen will receive a subsidy of Rp. 1,000 for each kg of soybean purchase.
As previously reported, the Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan denied that the stock of soybeans was only left for the next 7 days.
He guaranteed that the stock of imported food commodities was still safe. In fact, it is still enough for three months.
"The stock is safe for 3 months. It is said that the stock is only a week, it is a hoax. The stock is safe for 3 months," he said at the Ministry of Trade Office, Tuesday, October 25.
Regarding the fluctuation in soybean prices, Zulhas, as Zulkifli Hasan is familiarly called, admits that it is still expensive.
Zulhas said, this is because the soybeans sold in the market were imported soybeans a few months ago which were purchased when the price was still high.
However, he continued, within the next few months the price will fall. Moreover, world soybean prices have dropped.
Zulhas emphasized that the price of soybeans is influenced by the dollar exchange rate.
"Harga masih (mahal), karena ini kan buynya yang lalu belinya Juli-August ya kan, nah tiga bulan lagi sudah mulai turun. Tapi kalau kurs naik, kan sulit juga," ujarnya.
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