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.