Jokowi Instructs Increased Soybean Production Amidst Soybean Import Reliance

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has instructed that Indonesia's domestic soybean supply no longer depend on imports. This was announced by Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto.

“The President wants soybean supply not to be 100% dependent on imports because, from almost all of its needs, amounting to 2.4 million tons, national production continues to decline,” said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga, as reported by Kontan on Tuesday (20/9/2022).

Farmers are reluctant to plant soybeans because the price is not competitive compared to the price of imported soybeans from the United States, which is only Rp7,700 per kg. Meanwhile, the price of soybeans for farmers in Indonesia is above Rp10,000 per kg.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia's soybean imports reached 2.49 million tons with a value of US$1.48 billion or equivalent to Rp21.9 trillion in 2021.

In the last 5 years, Indonesia's soybean imports have been above 2.4 million tons per year and with a value of over US$1 billion per year, as shown in the graph.

Soybean import volume from January to June 2022 reached 1.42 million tons with a value of US$959.09 million. The following are the countries of origin for Indonesia's soybean imports during the January – June 2022 period:

* United States: 1.15 million tons valued at US$790.55 million
* Canada: 206,370 tons valued at US$126.35 million
* Brazil: 41,730 tons valued at US$26.76 million
* Argentina: 19,630 tons valued at US$14.0 million
* Malaysia: 2,180 tons valued at US$1.13 million.
* Other countries: 500 tons valued at US$302,000.

(read: Many Countries Restrict Food Exports, Here's the Breakdown)