Indonesian tempeh makers get back to work

Tofu and tempeh makers in many areas set up a three-day strike from September 9th to September 11th in a protest movie against the new higher price of soybeans. The strike amounted to financial losses over Rp 200 billion.

The good news for consumers is that tempeh and tofu are back on the market again because the producers have ceased their strike. The spokesperson for the Assocation of Tempeh and Tofu Producers Cooperatives made a statement that the strike was ended, and that tempeh and tofu were being produced once more.

The specific quote was that tofu and tempeh were going back into production the day before, so the products would be back on store shelves today. He made this statement on Thursday, and the statement was published in Tempo.co. Unfortunately, production would only be at about 75% of the average daily output before. In general, tempeh makers need about 25-200 kilograms of soybeans each day, and tofu makers need about 200-600 kilograms of soybeans each day.

The spokesperson went on to mention that tofu and tempeh were selling at much higher prices because the makers purchased their main ingredients at the existing prices out there now. There was a regulation passed on September 10th that let the government sell soybeans to tofu and tempeh producers at a special low price of approximately 75 US cents for each kilogram.

In classic markets, tempeh has a price of about Rp 4,000 for each portion and Rp 6,000 for bigger sizes. Tofu sells at about Rp 23,000 for each large cut, which is higher than the usual Rp 16,000.