RI fails to meet cocoa output target

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Association of Indonesian Cocoa Exporters (Askindo) said that the country would fail to meet its 2002 cocoa output target due to the recent drought affecting key producing areas.

Askindo secretary-general Zulhefy Sikumbang said on Wednesday that this year's cocoa production would only reach 430,000 tons compared to the initial projection of 450,000 tons.

He said that months of draught had damaged cocoa flowers particularly in the key growing areas of Sulawesi.

"I predict that next year's output will also fall by 10 percent to 400,000 tons," Zulhefy said.

South Sulawesi has the largest area of cocoa plantations in Indonesia covering some 134,000 hectares. Together with the provinces of Southeast and Central Sulawesi, it accounts for 75 percent of cocoa output in Indonesia.

The harvest period in these areas normally starts sometime around April and lasts through September.

Indonesia, the world's second largest producer of cocoa after the Ivory Coast, exports about 325,000 tons of its cocoa to the United States, Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil.

The country's total area under cocoa is estimated at 700,000 hectares.

Zulhefy said that local farmers had now become enthusiastic in taking care of their crops as the price of cocoa had been on the rise for the past couple of months.

The increase in cocoa prices was mainly due to fears of lower output from the world's largest producer, Ivory Coast.

"The price next year will depend mainly on the condition in Ivory Coast. I predict it will be about US$1,500 per ton compared to the current average of $1,700 per ton,"he said, pointing to the possibility of an improved security situation in Ivory Coast.