Days of cheap tofu, tempeh are gone for Indonesians

Staples disappear off menus because of surging price of soya bean imports
Salim Osman, Straits Times 17 Jan 08;

JAKARTA - CUSTOMERS at Jakarta's food courts and roadside stalls have been missing some of their favourite dishes for several days now.

The popular tofu and tempeh (fermented beancurd), two staples made of soya beans, have disappeared from the menu as a result of the rising price of soya beans imported by Indonesia.

It has made business a little tougher for stall assistant Rini at a Plaza Indonesia food court who has had to explain the shortage to disappointed customers.

'All I could say is that we couldn't buy enough tofu and tempeh in the market to cook their favourite dishes,' she told The Straits Times.

Cheap and nutritious, tofu and tempeh are considered staples by Indonesian families who eat them with rice.

Surging prices of soya beans, which Indonesia imports, have made food products produced from the beans more expensive. This has discouraged food sellers from buying tofu and tempeh.

The shortage of such food staples in Indonesia reflects a global trend. Rising prices combined with booming demand for such basic commodities as soya beans and palm oil have resulted in shortages that threaten to inflate living costs.

In Indonesia, the soya bean price has more than doubled from 2,750 rupiah (42 Singapore cents) per kilogram a year ago to almost 8,000 rupiah now - inflating the cost of producing tofu and tempeh. The weaker rupiah and rising freight costs make the situation worse.

One tofu and tempeh producer, Mr Tukino, 54, said that his factory in south Jakarta had been closed for four days.

'I am not sure when I can open it because I can't get my supply of soya beans to make tofu and tempeh,' he said.

The rising prices have driven thousands of tofu and tempeh producers and vendors to go on strike in the Indonesian capital this week in protest.

On Monday, they rallied outside the Presidential Palace for a one-day protest, demanding that the government lower prices.

As Indonesia does not produce enough soya beans to meet domestic demand, it relies on imports, mainly from the US, for 70 per cent of its requirements. Four licensed importers bring in about 1.3 million tonnes of soya beans each year to help meet the country's demand of 2 million tonnes.

Indonesian farmers do not plant enough of the crop because of the relatively low price it fetches at the market.

Said Vice-President Jusuf Kalla yesterday: 'You earn only 3.5 million rupiah if you plant soya bean in one hectare. But you'll earn 8 million rupiah if you grow corn.'

The shortage has prompted the government to take steps to curb prices of staples, as other countries such as China have done.

After meeting his economic ministers late on Tuesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced the scrapping of import duties on soya beans in a bid to keep prices down.

The state procurement agency Bulog may also be assigned to import cheaper soya beans to help the local food industry.

'The government has asked us to seek a new source for soya bean imports,' said Bulog spokesman Mustafa Abubakar.

Separately, Agriculture Minister Anton Pariyantono said that Indonesia plans to reduce its dependence on imports by boosting domestic soya bean output to 900,000 tonnes this year. Last year, the country produced about 600,000 tonnes.