REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita will check the price of soybean in the market following complaints received from tofu and tempeh traders regarding a spike in the price of the commodity. He will contact distributors, importers, and sellers of soybeans to find the extent of the hike and the reasons behind the surge in prices.

"I have not seen the price update. I will check it whether there is a price hike," the minister remarked at the office of the coordinating minister for economic affairs on Thursday.

Lukita remarked that distributors, importers, and sellers of soybean had vowed to not arbitrarily raise the prices through a currency exchange approach.

"They know their markets are tofu and tempeh traders," Lukita stated.

The trade minister noted that the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate affected soybean prices in the market. However, on the other hand, the existence of a trade war helped reduce the soybean prices.

"The price of soybean declines due to the limited market. However, there is a trade war," the minister added.

Bank Indonesia (BI) has spent Rp11.9 trillion on easing the pressure on the rupiah by meddling in the secondary market and buying back state securities (SBN) from foreign investors. The buyback operation involved Rp3 trillion on Thursday (Aug 30), Rp4.1 trillion on Friday (Aug 31), Rp3 trillion on Monday (Sept 3), and Rp1.8 trillion on Tuesday (Sept 4).

"We bought back SBN on Thursday and Friday last week and Monday and Tuesday this week," BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said at a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission XI here on Wednesday.

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