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Posts Tagged ‘cocoa’

General Information

Indonesia is the third largest cocoa producers in the world. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) has been planted in the archipelago since the Dutch Colonialism. The commodity’s contribution to the Indonesian economy – as a source of livelihood (income) for millions of people (including and mainly smallholder farmers); foreign exchange earnings; and development accelerator for regional and downstream cocoa based industries – renders it having a great strategic value to the country.

Indonesian cocoa exports are currently valued at approximately $600-700 million per year. In 2007, Indonesian cocoa beans production reached 740,006 tons (or about 15% of world production), 90% of which produced by smallholders. Table 1 depicts Indonesia’s cocoa production in terms of land coverage and tonnage.

Table 1. Area and Production of Cocoa Plantation in Indonesia

Y Year	Acreage (ha)	Production (ton)
2003	959,007	697,166
2004	1,090,960	691,704
2005	1,167,046	748,828
2006	1,320,820	769,386
2007	1.379.279	740,006

Source : Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia

Table 2 illustrates the main areas/regions of cocoa production, namely in the islands of Sulawesi (Celebes), Sumatera, Jawa (Java), and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Overall, the geographical and climatic conditions in Indonesia is suitable for growing cocoa.

Table 2. Centre of Cocoa Production in Indonesia 2007

A Area/Province	Acreage (ha)	Production (ton)
South Sulawesi	256,350	119,293
Centre Sulawesi	210,791	146,778
South East Sulawesi	203,223	135,113
North Sumatera	87,884	64,782
East Kalimantan	34,558	24,331
Lampung	38,393	24,671
East Java	52,007	16,613

Source : Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia

Besides cocoa beans, Indonesian cocoa exports include some processed products possessing unique characteristics such as cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa cake. For example, Indonesian cocoa butter is well known for its higher melting point (33 – 34ºC). Traditional (main) markets are the USA, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia.

National Movement for Enhancing Cocoa Production and Quality (2009-2011)

In an effort to speed up the rise of national cocoa production and quality, the Indonesian Government has implemented a program called National Movement for Enhancing Cocoa Production and Quality in nine provinces and 40 regencies. The three-year program started in 2009 incorporates the following actions: 70,000 ha of land rejuvenation; 235,000 ha of land rehabilitation; and 145,000 ha of production intensification.

With respect to land rejuvenation, the Government will provide high-yield cocoa clones, propagated through cutting, budding, and advance techniques such as somatic embryogenesis (SE)

Below are some examples of cacao clones cultivated in Indonesia: