Delegation aims to bring Indiana soybeans to Indonesia
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Over the last week, the Indiana Soybean Alliance has led a 10-person delegation to Indonesia to meet with potential soybean buyers and tour various facilities in the country.
The goal is to reach a deal that would allow for the export of up to 2.5 million metric tons of soybeans by container to the country each year; that would represent about a quarter of Indiana’s annual soybean production, according to Ed Ebert, senior director of market development with the Indiana Soybean Alliance.
The ISA says the Indonesia export would be valued at an estimated $110 million.
During a virtual meeting with reporters, Ebert said the Indonesia market has been an area of focus for the Indiana Soybean Alliance for some time.
“The importance of it can’t be understated in terms of its overall contribution to the amount of soybeans that are exported out of the United States,” Ebert said. “It is by far the largest consumer of U.S. soy in the form of No. 1 yellow soybeans, which they use to make food products here in Indonesia, principally tofu and tempeh.”
In addition to members from the Indiana Soybean Alliance, the delegation included representatives from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the Ports of Indiana, Greensburg Mayor Josh Marsh, and growers and business owners from throughout the state.
“We’ve gotten a lot of expertise here in terms of seed technology, in terms of soybean production, how they’re grown sustainably, and certainly when we look at Indiana’s focus on sustainable cropping with double crop and other things that we lead the nation in, it’s certainly a great story to be able to tell our partners here in Indonesia about how we grow soybeans,” said Ebert.
The effort to expand sales of specialty crops like soybeans is being assisted through the USDA’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program, or RAPP, which is providing $1.3 billion to American producers to diversify their export markets.
Jim Douglas, a soybean farmer from Shelby County and a United Soybean Board director, said the soybean industry is very important to Indonesia, but production in the country itself is difficult.
“To get an adequate supply, they don’t raise hardly any beans here, and so they’re relying on imports,” Douglas said. “And they are very serious about coming in with quality. You’re fighting a climate that’s not friendly for storage of anything with humidity and so forth, and so there’s a lot of challenges.”
Douglas noted that while there is some crop production in Indonesia, it is very limited and all done by hand. He said the trip aimed to enhance some of the partnerships that are already in place by delivering more, high quality product to the country.
Nick Stewart, owner and partner of S&G Seeds in Greensburg, said there is an opportunity to provide more than just the standard soybeans, which are largely used for the food products made in Indonesia.
“That could be a higher protein content, a high oleic content, stuff like that, that we have been told just either enhances changes or improves the flavor profile or the health profile of the food,” Stewart said. “And in talking with the distribution side of things, I think we can benefit from also doing the cleaning ourselves and sending them just a higher quality product in general instead of just what you send on on a barge.”
The city of Greensburg has been a big participant in the trip with Mayor Marsh taking part along with Economic Development Corp. of Greensburg/Decatur County Director Bryan Robbins.
Robbins noted that Greensburg is home to a small-scale tempeh manufacturer, led by restaurant owner Mayasari Effendi, a native of Indonesia and consultant to the Indiana Soybean Alliance who was also part of the delegation.
“She’s able to create a food product that’s actually even higher nutrition value; tempeh being seen as kind of a superfood recently and increases in popularity,” Robbins said. “Being able to actually come over here, see their processes here, getting in contact with some of those that tried to promote not only Indonesian culture, but Indonesian culture through their food, being able to see the connections that Maya has and help build on those connections will hopefully help her grow and help her scale up her business in Greensburg.”
Mayor Marsh said they are hoping to have a delegation from Indonesia come to Indiana to experience the state’s soybean industry from an agricultural and government perspective to help strengthen those relationships.
Andrew Sherman, international trade director for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said while the focus is currently on soybeans, there is potential for other Indiana-made products to be exported to Indonesia, including dairy and other packaged consumer-ready goods.
“But we feel that just the ability to supply such a culturally relevant food in tempeh and tofu makes this trip worth it even if we focus just in this one area,” he said.