Askindo upbeat on 2002 cocoa output

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Association of Indonesian Cocoa Exporters (Askindo) is optimistic that this year's cocoa output target of 400,000 tons can be achieved given strong motivation for farmers to take proper care of their crops.

"Many farmers have now started taking proper care of their crops again as cocoa prices continue to recover. We are optimistic that this year's target can be achieved," Zulhefy Sikumbang, the Askindo secretary-general, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said that as of this month, the price of cocoa had hit a three-month high of about US$1,975 per ton.

Indonesia, the world's third largest producer of cocoa after the Ivory Coast and Ghana, exports most of its cocoa to the United States, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil.

The country's total area under cocoa is estimated at 700,000 hectares.

South Sulawesi has the largest area of cocoa plantations in Indonesia with a total of 134,000 hectares. Together with the provinces of Southeast and Central Sulawesi, it accounts for 75 percent of cocoa output in Indonesia.

The main harvest in these areas normally starts around April and lasts through September.

Zulhefy, however, warned that cocoa output could decline in years to come unless all the relevant parties took steps to solve the problem of pod borer infestation, which had been affecting crops in recent years in almost all parts of the country.

Farmers have long complained about the lack of government effort to solve the pod borer problem, which has led to many farmers neglecting to take proper care of their crops.

"Almost 70 percent of cocoa plantations have been attacked by pod borers. This can reduce output by some 20 percent each harvest," Zulhefy said.

Askindo earlier unveiled an ambitious target for the country's output to hit some 1.5 million tons in the next eight years, making Indonesia the world largest cocoa producer.

Zulhefy said that productivity was currently very low at about 0.6 tons per hectare compared to 1.5 tons per hectare in the Ivory Coast and Ghana.

"If we can boost our productivity to about 1.5 tons per hectare, Indonesia could produce some 1.5 million tons of cocoa," Zulhefy said.