JAKARTA - The Indonesian Cocoa Producers Association (Askindo) has predicted the country’s cocoa bean exports will fall to 280 thousand tons in 2011 from 320 thousand tons in 2010 due to rising domestic consumption.
"Domestic cocoa consumption may increase to up to 220 thousand tons this year from around 150 thousand tons in 2010 due to an increase in the number of domestic cocoa processing industries," Askindo Chairman Zulhelfi Sikumbang said in a press conference here on Wednesday.
In March 2011, a cocoa processing plant with a capacity of 70 thousand tons started operating in Batam, he said. He predicted that national cocoa bean production this year would remain at 600 thousand tons as the area of cocoa plantation which currently reached 1.5 million hectares was unlikely to increase.
The high rainfalls would also reduce the productivity of cocoa trees, he said. "If rains continue to fall there will be a lot of problems."
He stated the government’s effort to raise cocoa production through a national cocoa movement (Gernas) was also still unable to increase the productivity of cocoa plantation significantly.
"I am pessimistic that the movement can raise the productivity of cocoa plantation because there has been no significant change. In fact, the productivity of cocoa plantation has fallen to 400 kg/ha/year now from an average of 450 kg/h/year in 2010," he said.
source : kompas.com
