Agriculture Minister Warns Soybean Importers Not to Raise Prices Too High

JAKARTA - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has warned soybean importers against raising prices too steeply. “We will gather everyone soon; friends in the import sector, please do not increase prices too high,” Amran stated when met at the Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday (7 April 2026). Soybean prices have risen due to the Middle East conflict. Therefore, Amran once again appealed to importers not to hike soybean prices excessively. “For soybeans, we ask all our importer brothers and sisters not to raise prices too high. Let us maintain food price stability, and let us have empathy and care for our fellow citizens,” he explained. “But most importantly, our staple goods, especially rice, which is the most vital, are in a very secure position, very secure,” Amran added. One strategy being adopted is to reduce the size of tempe to keep production operations running amid the spike in raw material prices. One artisan, Arfianto, said that soybean prices have surged from the previous Rp 9,800 to Rp 10,600 per kilogram since late March 2026. These prices are predicted to continue climbing in the coming period. “The soybean price increase has been ongoing for a while; even if not a big jump at once, it keeps rising. I don’t know how long this will last; it seems like prices will keep going up,” Arfianto remarked when met on Monday (6 April 2026). Arfianto explained that despite the soaring raw material costs, tempe artisans in the Sanan centre have chosen not to raise selling prices to consumers. As an alternative, they are adjusting the dimensions of the tempe, both in width and thickness. “We are not raising the price of tempe; we are only reducing the size by about 1 centimetre compared to the previous size,” Arfianto said.