Industry Ministry confident EUDR delay and US trade pact will boost Indonesian cocoa exports
Jakarta — The Indonesian Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is optimistic that the European Union’s postponement of the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) with the United States will become catalysts for increasing exports of Indonesia’s national cocoa products.
The Acting Director General of Agro-Industry at Kemenperin, Putu Juli Ardika, speaking at a discussion in Jakarta on Friday, assessed that these global policy developments open a wider market expansion space for Indonesia’s cocoa industry.
“This opens a good opportunity for our market, so all parties must collaborate to ensure maximum performance,” he said.
The European Union has agreed to delay the implementation of EUDR, whilst the United States has granted a 0 per cent tariff on Indonesian cocoa and chocolate products. Putu assessed this policy strengthens opportunities for increasing Indonesia’s processed cocoa exports.
Putu also revealed that the US market has been one of the main destinations for Indonesian cocoa exports, with expectations that Indonesia’s processed cocoa product market share in that country will reach 11 per cent.
“We see that the negotiation results are very good. So we hope our market share in America will reach around 11 per cent,” he added.
He further noted that of the total national processed cocoa exports, approximately 35 per cent is absorbed by export markets, so this tariff policy opens great opportunities to accelerate production whilst strengthening domestic raw material supply.
In terms of performance, the national cocoa processing industry shows positive momentum. Throughout 2024, grinding volume reached 422,176 tonnes, growing 4.43 per cent, with foreign exchange contribution of $3.42 billion.
However, Putu acknowledged that the industry’s main challenge still lies in raw material availability. Currently, capacity utilisation of the cocoa processing industry stands at only 50-60 per cent, so there remains significant room for production increases if domestic cocoa bean supply can be strengthened.
To address this challenge, Kemenperin is driving the strengthening of the ecosystem from upstream to downstream, including through integrating cocoa commodities into the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP), orchard revitalisation, and strengthening research and innovation.
Moreover, the role of cocoa artisans is also considered strategic in enhancing product quality and value-added. The number of cocoa artisans, which was previously 31 companies at the end of 2023, has now increased to more than 50 business units, playing a role in grading and developing premium cocoa.
Meanwhile, the General Chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Association (ASKINDO), Jeffrey Haribowo, announced that Indonesia will host the 9th Indonesia International Cocoa Conference (IICC) to be held on 22-24 July 2026 in Yogyakarta as a manifestation of Indonesia’s existence in the global cocoa ecosystem.
The conference themed “The Rise of Indonesian Cocoa: The Pearl of Asia for the World” is expected to be a strategic forum for industry players, stakeholders, and international partners to strengthen collaboration and drive transformation of Indonesia’s cocoa industry.
The association also believes that with conducive global policy synergy, strengthened raw materials, and industry modernisation, Indonesia’s processed cocoa exports will become increasingly competitive, solidifying Indonesia’s position as one of the world’s leading cocoa industry growth centres.