Slowly but surely, local soybean production declines and soybean imports increase.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia still relies on imported soybean, as its production falls short of the national needs, Chief of the Indonesian Association of Tempeh and Tofu Producers (Gakoptindo) Aip Syarifuddin stated.

"Our soybean demand currently stands at more than three million tons (per year), while our soybean production, based on the information we have received, continues to fall to up to 300 thousand tons in 2021 as compared to almost two million tons in the past,” Syarifuddin noted here on Tuesday.

To fulfill the demand for soybean, Indonesia imports nearly 2.6 million tons of the commodity annually, he remarked.

“Slowly but surely, local soybean production declines and soybean imports increase,” he pointed out.

Indonesia had achieved self-reliance in soybean production in 1992 when its production touched 1.8 million tons per year. However, production continued to drop to 963.18 thousand tons in 2015, some 859.65 thousand tons in 2016, and some 538.73 thousand tons in 2017. Production rose slightly to 650 thousand tons in 2018 though plunging again to 424.19 thousand tons in 2019.

On the other hand, soybean imports continued to increase from 2.26 million tons in 2016 to 2.67 million tons in 2017. Soybean imports fell to 2.58 million tons in 2018, though it increased again to 2.67 million tons in 2019 and dropped to 2.47 million tons in 2020.

Syarifuddin remarked that the demand for tempeh (soybean cake) and tofu necessitates daily soybean stocks to enable tempeh and tofu producers to produce the commodities on a daily basis.

Domestic soybean production cannot meet the daily soybean requirements, he noted.

“Sometimes, local soybean is available and at times is unavailable," he remarked.

On the quality side, imported soybean has a standard shape, size, and color, while local soybean does not have good standardization, he pointed out.

This is because imported soybean is produced using technology and mechanism, he added.

Related news: Researcher pushes for consistent policy to boost soybean production
Related news: Tofu, tempe record inflation amid soybean price hike: BPS
Related news: Reviving Indonesia's self-reliance in soybean production

Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2022