JP/19/SOYBN1

JP/19/SOYBN1

Aussies bid to get a slice of the tempe market

Duncan Graham
Contributor/Surabaya

Next time you sit down to a plate of nutritious tempe or tofu you
could be digesting food from Down Under.

Australian farmers are making a vigorous bid to supply the raw
product for Indonesia's premier health foods. These are made from
fermented soybeans and enjoyed across Java and other islands as a
snack or the main course.

Three sugarcane growers from Queensland have sent 22 tonnes of
beans to Jakarta as a trial shipment. These are being rebagged
and distributed to tempe manufacturers in West and East Java to
see how the beans compare with those currently used to make the
famous food.

The three farmers -- Murray Cannavan, Alfio Musumeci and
Andrew Lashmar - have been growing soybeans for many years, but
as a nutrient for their sugarcane during fallow periods in the
production cycle.

When the soybean plants are almost mature they are plowed into
the ground as green fertilizer. Any beans harvested have been
sold for stock food. Now the men think it may be a smarter idea
to grow soybeans as a cash crop and export these to Indonesia for
human consumption.

To learn more about tempe and the market the three men spent a
week in Jakarta and Surabaya talking to manufacturers and
traders.

Soybeans are indigenous to China and have long been a part of
that country's diet. The bean appeared in Japan about 1,000
years ago but didn't get to Europe until the 17th century.

Soybeans are now widely used in Western cooking where soymilk
and other bean products, including cake, oil and flour, are
promoted in the health food industry. Vegetarians find soybeans
are a good meat substitute, high in calcium. Soy sauce has a
place on most kitchen shelves.

Tempe is believed to be an Indonesian invention and has long
been a home industry in specific areas. Malang, in central East
Java, claims to produce the tastiest product. The town is also
famous for its kripik tempe, a crispy cracker made by deep-frying
thin slices of fresh tempe in a batter of secret ingredients (see
sidebar.)

Although Indonesian farmers produce soybeans, most tempe
manufacturers prefer to use beans from America. These have a
reputation for being bigger, cleaner and with higher protein.

This is the market the Australians want to enter, arguing that
their field-fresh beans can be speedily supplied at a competitive
price from the country next door rather than hauled from the
other side of the world.

The Australian farmers said Indonesia uses more than one
million tons of soybeans a year, but can produce only one-tenth
of its needs.

"The problem is that although soybeans are quoted at a world
price, U.S. growers are heavily subsidized by their government,
while we get no support," said Cannavan.

"We have no illusions about the forces we are up against, but
we can deliver a premium product to the customer's
specifications. We know how to harvest quality beans and can
offer new varieties."

Cannavan and his colleagues each grow less than 200 hectares
of sugarcane and are principally family farmers. Their properties
are in the Burdekin region, a sub-tropical zone 100 kilometers
south of Townsville, an export port on the Queensland coast close
to Papua New Guinea.

"This is the largest sugarcane growing region in Australia,
but sugar has suffered from some enormous fluctuations in the
world price so growers need to support their incomes through
other crops," said Lashmar.

"The Burdekin is a fully-irrigated and agriculturally stable
area with about 300 days of sunshine every year. The year-round
climate is suitable for cropping. Apart from sugar and soybeans
we also grow other legumes and sunflowers, a source for cooking
oil."

Even though Australia wants to export soybeans it still needs
to import 300,000 tonnes a year. These beans are mainly used as
the basis for poultry, pig and dairy-cattle food where the
animals are intensively farmed.

Some top quality Australian soybeans are exported to Japan.

Although Australian farmers don't get subsidized like their
American counterparts, they are getting government help. In their
bid to penetrate the Indonesian market two Queensland government
officials -- agricultural scientist Stephen Sinclair and trade
expert Rob Wardrobe who is based in Jakarta accompanied the
"Messrs Beans".

The team wanted to bring some beans with them to show off to
tempe manufacturers and decided to mail these ahead to the
Australian Embassy. However, the package vanished in the post so
the growers have had to tour empty-handed and a little red-faced.

(Pix: The mould to make tempe; making tempe in Malang; Mr Beans
- from left Alfio Musumeci, Stephen Sinclair, Murray Cannavan,
Andrew Lashmar and Rob Wardrobe.

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