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Sulawesi H1 Cocoa Exports Down 41%
Lewa Pardomuan | July 19, 2011

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A poor harvest on Indonesia’s main cocoa-growing island of Sulawesi caused production to drop more than 40 percent to 64,591 metric tons in the January to June period, industry data showed on Tuesday.

Indonesia could see full-year output falling to 420,000 tons, its lowest since at least 2004, after erratic weather triggered the spread of a damaging fungal disease in Sulawesi.

Data from the Sulawesi chapter of the Indonesian Cocoa Association showed cocoa exports in June at 15,232 tons, down from 25,990 tons in the same month last year, with dealers reporting limited bean arrivals from plantations. Exports stood at 110,759 tons in January to June last year.

“Normally, trucks would queue until 10 o’clock in the evening to unload cocoa at warehouses because there were so many beans,” said a dealer in Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi.

“We used to export up to 5,000 tons of beans three times a month. But fortunately bean counts are steady at 120 to 115 beans per 100 grams,” he said. Bean counts are used to measure quality. A lower bean count indicates good quality beans, and the national standard for bean counts in Indonesia is 110 beans per 100 grams.

Concerns about supply from Indonesia, which accounts for 10 percent of global output, could offer support for New York cocoa futures, which have dropped from a 32-year peak in March, partly due to the return of peace to top grower Ivory Coast.

Less favorable weather in West Africa and a return to the long-term decline in Ivory Coast production are expected to switch the global cocoa market into deficit in 2011/12, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

The main harvest was underway in Sulawesi, which accounts for about 70 percent of Indonesia’s cocoa output, but dealers said the prospect was gloomy after Vascular-streak Dieback (VSD) returned to plantations.

Indonesia has been dealing with pests and diseases for years. Heavy rains in Sulawesi have once again triggered the spread of VSD, a disease that attacks branches, leaves and trunks, eventually killing the trees.

Indonesia mainly exports beans to grinders in Malaysia, the United States and Brazil. Cocoa is also grown in Indonesia’s Sumatra and Java islands.

Reuters