The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsIndonesia mulling soybean import subsidy as prices rise
Though details are still being ironed out, the subsidy plan aims to ease price-related pressures on soybean importers while ensuring their availability and affordability, including for consumers of tofu and tempeh.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
A worker dumps a batch of freshly cleaned soybeans into a crushing machine on Feb. 5, 2026, at a tofu factory in Surabaya, East Java. ( AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
T
he government is considering subsidy for imported soybeans to curb a rise in local prices and ease pressure on importers amid soaring global prices of the staple food ingredient.
“Soybean prices have increased. We used to provide subsidies before, so we are discussing what the solution should be this time,” Trade Minister Budi Santoso told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 14th United States-Indonesia Investment Summit, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (AmCham Indonesia) at The St. Regis Jakarta in South Jakarta.
How the subsidy would work, including its mechanism and applicable import volume, was still under discussion, but the government aimed to implement the measure this year, Budi said.
Read also: Indonesia seeks exemption for palm oil under new US tariff
The subsidy would be provided to soybean importers to ensure the commodity’s affordability as well as availability, he added.
Higher soybean prices risk increasing food prices in the country, where tofu and tempeh are consumed every day and are a major source of protein for millions.
Annual soybean demand stood at around 2.74 million tonnes, far outstripping domestic production of just 311,000 tonnes, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports to fill the gap and prices vulnerable to global market movements and geopolitical tensions.
