February 10, 2011

Indonesia to face soy shortage in 2011

Indonesia's local soy production, shaped by bad weather conditions, is expected to fall short of the government's target this year, according to Deputy Agriculture Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi on Wednesday (Feb 9).

Bayu said that the country would be hardly able to meet soy production target this year which was initially set at 960,000 tonnes. He said that the planting period, between August and October, is expected to have been too wet for healthy crops.

"We're worried that because the climate has been so wet, soy farmers, who are concentrated in Aceh and East Java, will shift from planting soy to planting rice," Bayu said.

Indonesia will likely face a shortage of soy this year, with domestic consumption currently standing at 1.5 million tonnes a year, according to local media.

Bayu said the government had earlier planned to import between 600,000 and 700,000 tonnes of soy to meet demand, but would not likely be able to increase this figure to offset shortages in domestic production.

"It is not easy to import soy because prices are continually increasing and there's a considerable likelihood of supply difficulties," he added.