Once Lost And Reappearing In The Market, The Price Of Tofu And Tempe In Jakarta Rises 20 Percent

Tempe (Photo: Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Jakarta Food, Maritime and Agricultural Security Service (DKPKP) checks the availability and price of tofu and tempeh in a number of traditional to supermarkets in Jakarta.

After experiencing scarcity on January 1 to 3, tofu and tempeh are being sold again in the market. However, the price jumped by 20 percent from normal.

"On January 4, 2021, DKPKP will monitor tofu and tempe in traditional markets and tofu is already on the market with price adjustments. The increase in tofu price is around Rp. 2,000 or 20 percent," said Plt. Head of the KPKP Office, Suharini Eliawati in her statement, Tuesday, January 5.

Based on his monitoring, the increase in tofu-and-tempe prices was due to the increase in the price of imported soybeans from IDR 7,000 per kilogram to IDR 9,500 per kilogram.

As a result, on January 1 to 3, 2021 the tofu and tempe craftsmen will stop their production. This has resulted in the "loss" of tofu and tempeh in the markets.

"The termination of production provides an understanding to the public that the price of raw materials or soybeans has gone bad," said Suharini.

Suharini said, the increase in imported soybeans was the impact of the increase in world soybean prices. World soybean prices have risen due to China buying up its import quota of 60 percent from the United States.

Therefore, the quota for imports of soybeans from the US supplied to Indonesia is running low. So, this has an impact on the scarcity of soybeans as a raw material for tofu and tempeh in the country.

To reduce the price of tofu and tempe in the market, the DKI KPKP Department will supply local soybeans. "Responding to this, the government will highlight local soybeans, which currently only meet 30 percent of soybean needs in anticipation of the need for imported soybeans," said Suharini.