Pest infestation hinders RI cocoa flow, yields

Pest infestation hinders RI cocoa flow, yields

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Indonesia could have easily produced another 100,000 to 500,000 metric tons of cocoa beans yearly if it hadn't been for a widespread pest infestation in many growing areas across the country, Halim Razak, vice chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Association of Sulawesi said Thursday.

"The pod borer is everywhere in Sulawesi and it's a big problem," Razak told Dow Jones Newswires. He also said there hasn't been any action taken by the government due probably to limited funding.

Cocoa pod borer outbreaks and recent high rainfall that caused high moisture levels in beans have lowered bean quality, he said.

"Most of the exporters have stopped buying," he said.

Exporters at Ujung Pandang, the main port for shipping cocoa in t he Indonesian province of south Sulawesi, said they have been experiencing difficulty in gathering enough export-quality beans for shipments.

"Few chartered vessels have arrived at the port, which reflects the tight supply situation," a Singapore-based trader noted.

Razak said the now-defunct Indonesian Cocoa Board and the American Cocoa Association conducted research two years ago and recommendations were submitted to the government aimed at containing the pod borer threat, but nothing has been implemented thus far.

"If (the government and farmers) do nothing, farmers could lose yields of between 30 percent to 40 percent," he said.

Indonesia is the world's third largest cocoa producer after the Ivory Coast and Ghana.