Sulawesi cacao output unaffected by fires

Sulawesi cacao output unaffected by fires

JAKARTA (JP): South Sulawesi's cacao output, which accounts
for nearly half of Indonesia's total exports, has not been
affected by the bush and forest fires raging in parts of the
province, the local chapter of the Indonesian Cocoa Association
said.

Chairman Cornelis Patty said in Ujungpandang Saturday that a
fire at a private cocoa plantation in Mamuju regency had already
been extinguished, Antara reported.

There were no other reports of fires affecting cacao
plantations, including those that were run by smallholder
farmers, in the province, Cornelis said.

Mamuju, Luwu and Polmas regencies were the biggest cacao
producing areas so that any decline in output would have a big
impact on South Sulawesi's total production, he said.

Minister of Agriculture Sjarifuddin Baharsjah said last week
that fires which had hit some 173 plantations in Indonesia would
probably have an impact on commodity supplies.

Cacao is South Sulawesi's main export.

Last year, 155,000 tons of the 323,000 tons of cacao Indonesia
exported came from the province.

There are more than 130,000 hectares of cacao plantations in
the province, mostly smallholder plantations, More than 170,000
farmers grow the crop.

Indonesia's cacao production was 330,000 tons last year making
it the world's third biggest producer, after the Ivory Coast
(1.12 million tons) and Ghana (404,000 tons). (08)