Indonesia's cocoa production expected to rise

CIANJUR, West Java (JP): Indonesia's cocoa production is projected to increase to 450,000 tons this year from 300,000 tons in 1996, says an Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo) representative.

Yoppie Saragih, head of the association's foreign affairs section said over the weekend that cocoa yields would come from 400,000 hectare to 500,000 hectare cocoa estates.

"We are aiming at becoming the world's second largest producer of cocoa, since demand for cocoa is still much higher than supply," Saragih said during a visit to a state-owned plantation, PTPN VIII Raja Mandala, in Cianjur, West Java.

Indonesia is now the world's third largest cocoa producer after the Ivory Coast, which produces about 1 million tons a year, and Ghana about 350,000 tons a year.

Last year, Indonesia exported 274,118 tons of cocoa worth US$262.84 million.

About 95,962 tons were exported to Singapore, which sold it to other countries. The United States is the second largest consumer of Indonesian cocoa, with an import volume of 85,653 tons last year.

Saragih, who accompanied representatives of several Belgian chocolate companies on the visit Saturday, said Indonesian cocoa was still in great demand by overseas chocolate producers.

Dirk De Geynt, a representative of Belgium's Barry Callebout company, said his company planned to buy more cocoa from Indonesia.

"Currently, Indonesian cocoa makes up about 10 percent of our total consumption, but we are going to increase the amount, especially to supply our newly opened chocolate factory in Singapore," De Geynt said.

He did not specify the amount of cocoa his company planned to buy.

De Geynt said Indonesia's cocoa beans, especially Java beans, produced light colored chocolates and lost less weight during processing than African beans.

Barry Callebout is the world's largest chocolate and chocolate coating manufacturer, as well as one of the top three cocoa processors.

Last week, it opened a factory in Singapore, after which representatives of the company and its customers visited the cocoa plantation in West Java.

But the quality of Indonesian beans was still lower than that of African beans, Saragih said.

"European countries have their own set standards of quality for the beans, one of which is that the beans are fermented," he said.

He said most Indonesian cocoa producers did not ferment their beans, to avoid additional costs. Unfermented beans were much cheaper than fermented beans, he said.

"The difference between fermented and unfermented beans could reach between US$100 and US$200 a ton in the market," he said.

But markets such as the United States, preferred unfermented beans, which made it hard for Askindo to encourage cocoa producers to ferment their beans, he said. (das)