Bogor, June 12 -- Trade Minister Budi Santoso described the Rp2,000-per-kilogram soybean subsidy as a government instrument to shield people from global price volatility, primarily targeting producers of tempeh, an Indonesian savory fermented food.

He said the policy was addressed during a meeting chaired by Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan on Tuesday (June 9), where the government weighed options to maintain tempeh production amid rising soybean prices.

"Considering the significant increase in soybean prices, we decided to provide assistance to tempeh producers," Santoso said in Bogor, West Java, on Friday.

He explained that the government plans to subsidize approximately 250,000 tonnes of imported soybeans during...