Jakarta, April 7 -- Indonesia's agriculture minister urged importers on Tuesday to avoid excessive soybean price increases, warning that rising costs could threaten food stability and burden consumers.

"We ask all importers not to raise soybean prices too high. Let us maintain food price stability and show empathy for the community," Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta.

He highlighted mounting pressure on tofu and tempeh producers, as higher soybean prices begin to affect small-scale businesses and household food staples.

Producers in Bekasi, West Java, have struggled to stay afloat as global price shocks drive up the cost of imported soybeans and packaging, squeezing already thin profit marg...