Soybean Prices Skyrocket, Tofu Size In Aceh Shrinks

Craftsmen know to put tofu in a bucket to be marketed in Banda Aceh and its surroundings, Friday (11/24/2023). (Between/Nurul Hasanah)

Tofu producers in Banda Aceh City were forced to reduce the size of tofu to get around it so that sales turnover would not decrease drastically, due to the current high price of soybeans.

"To outsmart so that there are not too many losses without the need to increase prices, we will reduce the size," said the owner of the Solo Tofu Factory in Banda Aceh Sugeng in Banda Aceh, Saturday as quoted by Antara.

Sugeng said, until today the price of soybeans is still high and continues to rise as of August 2023, which is IDR 650 thousand per sack (50 kilograms) from the previous IDR 550 thousand per sack.

Therefore, to outsmart so as not to increase the price of tofu, he prefers to reduce the size of the product.

He explained, previously one 50 kg soybean sack was divided into six dishes (timba). Each dish contains 8 kg soybeans. However, currently the amount is reduced to seven dishes, so it only contains about 7 kg of soybeans per dish.

"From one bag, it can be used for six dishes, now it has become seven dishes. Because each food has decreased by 1 kg of soybeans, so it is not as thick as the previous tofu," he said.

He said, soybeans for their business were obtained from Medan, then tofu production was marketed to traditional markets in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar.