Indonesia's Soybean Import Value Increased Despite Volume Decrease in 2022

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that Indonesia's soybean imports in 2022 reached US$1.62 billion. This figure is up 9.45% year-on-year (yoy) from US$1.48 billion in the previous year.

Although the value increased, the volume of Indonesia's soybean imports decreased in 2022 to 2.32 million tons. This volume is down 6.45% from 2021, which amounted to 2.48 million tons.

By country, the United States (US) was the largest supplier of imported soybeans to Indonesia in 2022. Soybean imports from the US totaled US$1.36 billion, or 83.95% of Indonesia's total soybean import value in 2022.

This was followed by Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Malaysia, with soybean import values of US$186.66 million, US$42.98 million, US$26.76 million, and US$2.73 million respectively.

Similarly, in terms of import volume, the US had the largest soybean import volume to Indonesia in 2022, at 1.92 million tons. This was followed by Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Malaysia with 287,990 tons, 60,820 tons, 41,730 tons, and 5,200 tons respectively.

Over the past six years, the value and volume of Indonesia's soybean imports have shown a fluctuating trend.

Most recently, Budi Waseso, the President Director of Perum Bulog, stated that his agency is exploring options with several countries for planned soybean imports. Meanwhile, calculations are underway to determine the soybean needs of tofu and tempeh producers.

According to Buwas, this is important to avoid excessive imports that could potentially disrupt other interests. "We are exploring options with many countries, but the most important thing is a price standard that is suitable for producers," said Buwas, as quoted by Kontan.co.id on Tuesday (June 13, 2023).

He added that countries already being explored for planned soybean imports include Africa, Thailand, Argentina, and several others.

Although the quality meets the standards required by Indonesian producers, Buwas said that negotiations on price are still ongoing.

"We've checked the quality, it's the same. It's just the price that hasn't been finalized yet, because we don't want the price to burden the producers. We want producers to be able to produce at a low cost," he said.