Brazil imports Indonesian cocoa<\/p>\n
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters): Brazil recently imported some 12,000
\ntons of Indonesian cocoa beans, its first cocoa purchase since
\nOctober and likely to be the last for the current crop in the key
\nstate of Bahia, industry sources said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Shortly before the Christmas holiday break, a vessel unloaded
\naround 3,000 tons of Indonesian beans in the port of Ilheus, said
\nan official from the Bahia Commercial Association.<\/p>\n
\"There's a lot of bureaucracy and it hasn't got through
\ncustoms yet, which will probably happen late next week,\" said
\nThomas Hartmann. This was the reason why the imports had yet to
\nappear on cocoa arrivals data for Bahia, he added.<\/p>\n
\"Since it (the cocoa) hasn't entered the warehouses, they
\nhaven't declared it yet,\" he told Reuters.<\/p>\n
According to Association data, cumulative cocoa arrivals from
\nMay 1997 in Bahia from other nations reached 248,508 60-kg bags
\nby Jan. 4, equivalent to 14,910 tons.<\/p>\n
A second vessel carrying a further 9,000 tons of Indonesian
\ncocoa had now docked in the port and would probably start to
\nunload its cargo Thursday or Friday, he said.<\/p>\n
Local news sources said the ship docked at Ilheus was the
\nLiberian-flagged vessel Hopwell, which arrived at the port to be
\nfumigated before the start of unloading.<\/p>\n
All the cocoa imported by Brazil so far has come from
\nIndonesia, the only producing country which is currently cleared
\nby the Agriculture Ministry.<\/p>\n
A supply shortage during the mid-crop, which runs from May to
\nSeptember, forced producers to authorize up to 15,000 tons of
\nimports. The main cocoa crop runs from October to April.<\/p>\n
Brazil last imported cocoa in October, Hartmann said. \"That
\nwill probably be it for the current Bahia crop,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Brazil, formerly the world's second largest cocoa producer,
\nhas seen its status eroded in recent years after the witch's
\nbroom fungus, for which no cure has yet been found, ravaged the
\ncrop in the key growing state of Bahia.<\/p>\n
Many Bahia farmers chose to abandon the production of cocoa
\nand deforested their land to use it to grow other crops, or sold
\nit for cattle grazing. Brazil was then forced to import cocoa.<\/p>\n
In October, the government cocoa institute Ceplac launched a
\nproject to build a \"clonal garden\" turning out varieties of cocoa
\nwhich can resist witch's broom.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/brazil-imports-indonesian-cocoa-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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