Get Ready Ladies! Tempe And Tofu Prices Will Rise

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JAKARTA - The Director of Domestic Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Oke Nurwan, announced that the domestic price of tofu and tempeh will rise in the coming months.

The increase in the price of tempeh and tofu is due to the soaring international price of soybeans, where soybeans are the main raw material in producing the two favorite foods of the Indonesian people.

"The condition of soybeans in the world is currently experiencing supply disruptions. If I look at Brazil there is a decline in soybean production, which was originally predicted to be able to produce 140 million tons in January, decreased to 125 million tons. This decline in production has an impact on increasing world soybean prices," said Oke Nurwan, quoted by Antara, Friday, February 11.

Another cause, according to Oke, is inflation in the United States which reached 7 percent, which had an impact on price increases rather than soybean product inputs.

In addition, a reduction in labor, an increase in land rental costs, and weather uncertainty in soybean-producing countries have also caused soybean farmers in the United States to increase prices.

"Based on data from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), soybean prices in the first week of February 2022 reached US$15.77 per bushel or around Rp.11,240 per kilogram (kg) at the domestic importer level," said Oke.

In this case, it is estimated that the price will continue to increase until May 2022 which can reach 15.79 US dollars per bushel. Furthermore, there will be a decline in July 2022 to 15.74 US dollars per bushel at the importer level.

For this reason, Oke said that the increase in world soybean prices would have an impact on the increase in soybean prices at the level of domestic tofu and tempeh craftsmen.

"And this will affect the end is the price of derivative products from soybeans, the main thing here is the price of tempeh and tofu," said Oke.

Based on data from the Association of Indonesian Tempe and Tofu Producers Cooperatives (Gakoptindo), the current price of soybeans is Rp. 10,800-Rp 11,000 per kg. Meanwhile, soybean stock at importers is currently around 140,000 tons in February and will enter another 160,000 tons.

Thus, the supply of soybeans is estimated to be sufficient to meet domestic demand for the next two months.

However, Oke emphasized that the government will maintain the availability of soybeans even though the prices are high.

"Because we understand that soybeans are one of the staple goods that are the main needs of the Indonesian people, it is related to the habits of the Indonesian people who consume tofu and tempeh," said Oke.

Oke said, 80 percent of Indonesia's soybean needs are currently supplied from abroad or imported, because domestic production is not sufficient.

As an initial estimate, continued Oke, the price of tempeh would be between Rp. 10,300-Rp. 10,600 per kg. Meanwhile, the price of tofu is Rp 52,450-Rp 53,700 per board or Rp 650-Rp 700 per piece.