JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Indonesia may scrap its 5 percent import tariff for soybeans in an effort to alleviate domestic food price pressures, the trade minister said on Tuesday, in a move that could also boost shipments of the oilseed to the Southeast Asian nation.

"We are discussing with other ministries whether to scrap the soybean imports duty, which is currently 5 percent," Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan told Reuters, without specifying whether the measure could be temporary or permanent.

After global food prices spiked last year, Indonesia temporarily scrapped its soybean import tariff and extended the role of state procurement body Bulog beyond rice in order to build bigger food stockpiles.

Indonesia meets 70 percent of its annual needs of the oilseed through imports, mainly from the United States.