Ministry of Agriculture
indicated that there are a number of factors that led to national soybean
production to continue declining in the past five years. One of them is because
the government was late in issuing regulations related to soybean trade system.
Ministry of Agriculture reported that soybean production in the last 5 years
continues to decline due to lack of regulations that guarantee price at farm
level.
These conditions make soybean price became erratic.
During that decade, the price of soybeans fluctuated and followed international
prices. Moreover, during the golden harvest, the first of this commodity is
pretty low. Thus, farmers are not eager to plant this commodity.
Maman Suherman, Director of Assorted Nuts and Bulbs,
Ministry of Agriculture, in Jakarta (Tuesday, October 8), said that based on
data of the Ministry of Agriculture, soybean production in 2008 totaled 775,710
tons from an area of 590,956 hectares. Soybean production once rose in 2009 to
974,512 tons. Maman said that the quite fantastic increase in production
throughout 2008-2009 is because international soybean prices at the Chicago
Board of Trade (CBOT) increased.
Maman admitted that Indonesia is still dependent on
imported soybean. Of the total soybean requirement at 2.5 million tons/year,
soybean production in the country could only suffice 700,000 – 800,000
tons/year. There are several factors that trigger the law soybean production in
Indonesia. One of them is the lack of soybean plantations in the country.
“Currently, the size of our soybean plantation is only 570,000 hectares. With
the expansion, the size could reach 1 million acres so it could make our soy
procurement position to shift”, he said.
In addition to land factor, Maman said, low productivity
of local soybean is another factor. The Ministry of Agriculture seeks to
improve the productivity of soybean plantation. On average, each hectare of
soybean plantation in Indonesia is only capable of producing 1.5 tons of
soybeans. Farmers prefer to plant rice or corn instead of soybean. To this end,
Minister of Trade, Gita Wirjawan, issued a Government Purchase Price (HPP)
policy for soybeans in 2013. The price set by the Ministry of Trade is
Rp7,000/kg.
The government, he said, has opened soybean imports to
meet domestic demand. This policy has a significant impact on local soybean
because it must compete with imported soybeans from the United States. As long
as importer is qualified to obtain Import Permit (SPI), import permit will be
granted.
Meanwhile,
Chairman of the National Soybean Board, Benny Kusbini, believed that it is easy
to increase national soybean production provided that there is a willingness of
the technical ministries. According to Benny, soybean plants are suitable for
planting in Indonesia. But, the problem of the Ministry of Agriculture is the
difficulty to find new soybean plantation area. He then asked the Minister of
Agriculture not to complain much, just apply the stock management system then
search for potential land for planting soybeans. The Ministry of Agriculture
should learn what Indonesia did to achieve soybean self-sufficiency in 1992.
Business News - October 11, 2013
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