Indonesian cacao exports still poor: Minister

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian exporters have to pay US$300,00 per ton of cacao exported to the United States as an additional cost for automatic detention and fumigation due to the cacao's poor quality, Minister of Industry Tunky Ariwibowo said yesterday.

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration fines exporters of Indonesian cacao for automatic detention and further treatment of the commodity before it enters U.S. territory," said Tunky in his written speech read by Director General of Agricultural Industry Anang Lukmana.

Lukmana opened a five-day chocolate exhibition at the Plaza Indonesia yesterday.

The FDA automatically detains Indonesian cacao, which is generally dried improperly, because it contains insects, residuals, fungi and low fat content.

Indonesia produces 280,112 tons of cacao per annum, 80.68 percent of which is exported to the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries.

Tunky said 75.19 percent of Indonesia's cacao is produced by plantations of farmers who commonly process their products in a traditional way.

Tunky suggested that Indonesia maintain the current level of its cacao exports to avoid an oversupply, which may cause a price decline.

He estimated that Indonesia's cacao production in the year 2000 will reach 400,000 tons per annum.

Quality

He also suggested that farmers improve the quality of their cacao by using advanced technology in processing cacao seeds, and that cacao-based manufacturers diversify their products.

There are currently 35 companies in the country engaged in the production of cocoa and chocolates with a total capacity of 165,921 tons per annum.

Exports of chocolate, cocoa powder, biscuits, bread and candy increased by 245 percent from 8,317.16 tons in 1989 to 28,695.65 tons in 1993. It rose again to 31,220.74 tons in 1994.

Tunky also reminded that in the era of trade globalization, Indonesian producers of cacao-based goods must meet the requirements set by the World Trade Organization on the environmental and labor aspects of food production, particularly those related to ecolabeling and manpower welfare.

Executives of a chocolate company PT Ceres Indonesia and its distributor PT Nirwana Lestari told the press at the opening ceremony of the exhibition yesterday that the sales of chocolate on the domestic market is very low.

"The tropical climate in Indonesia can make chocolate melt easily," said Wigan Margana of Nirwana Lestari.

He said another problem for the expansion of chocolate exports is the high prices of sugar and milk in the country, thereby making the country's chocolate prices uncompetitive on the world market.

He said chocolate contains 40 percent sugar and 15 percent milk.(kod)