Tempeh and Tofu Prices Soar, Government Provides Soybean Subsidy of Rp 2,000 per Kilogram

Trade Minister Budi Santoso announced that the government has issued a policy to provide a soybean subsidy of Rp 2,000 per kilogram. The measure is an effort to assist tempeh artisans facing rising raw material costs due to global market volatility.

The policy was discussed in a meeting led by Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan on Tuesday (9/6), as a step to maintain the continuity of tempeh and tofu production amid increasing soybean prices, thereby curbing price hikes for the public.

‘Because it has been disrupted by rising prices, we are helping the tempeh artisans,’ Budi said in Bogor, West Java, on Friday, 12 June 2026.

In the initial phase, the government will provide subsidies for approximately 250,000 tonnes of imported soybeans. The measure is expected to ease the burden of rising production costs caused by surging international commodity prices.

Budi explained that the increase in soybean prices is influenced by global conditions, including the impact of conflicts and geopolitical uncertainty affecting supply chains and world food commodity trade.

With the subsidy, the government hopes tempeh producers can maintain production and sell their products at prices that remain affordable for the public.

‘The goal is to ease the burden of increasingly high prices due to the global market impact, because of war, so that artisans can continue to produce tempeh at current prices,’ he said.

The government decided to provide a soybean subsidy of Rp 2,000 per kilogram through the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) to maintain soybean price stability amid the weakening rupiah and high dependence on imports for the commodity.

Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan said the subsidy for the first phase covers 250,000 tonnes of soybeans, as the commodity is almost entirely dependent on imports. He said the government is anticipating the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate, which could affect domestic soybean prices because most of the commodity’s needs are met through imports. The subsidy is expected to maintain soybean price stability so as not to burden tempeh-tofu businesses and the public.