Indonesia's Sulawesi April cocoa exports slump 76 percent

Indonesia's cocoa bean exports from the key-producing island of Sulawesi slumped 76 percent in April from a year ago to 1,570 tonnes, and cocoa output in the region is expected to fall up to 10 percent this year, an association official said on Monday.
The fall in exports last month was due to a rise in the cocoa bean export tax to 15 percent, though exports may pick up again in May as the world's third largest cocoa producer has cut the tax for shipments this month to 10 percent. However, production from the island will be lower this year because of rains and the crop profile, said Dakhri Sanusi, secretary of the Indonesian Cocoa Association (Askindo) in southern Sulawesi.
"Output may drop by up to 10 percent, or about 15,000-16,000 tonnes, because of weather and ageing cocoa crops," Sanusi told Reuters. Askindo said last month that total Indonesian cocoa output was seen flat this year at 600,000 tonnes, as higher production from new planting offsets the impact of heavy rains.
Indonesia currently has 1.5 million hectares of cocoa plantations, mostly in Sulawesi island in eastern Indonesia. Around 165,000 tonnes of cocoa beans were produced in South Sulawesi, Southwest Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi last year, Sanusi added.
Indonesian cocoa farmers have been battling the pod borer, worm-like creatures which eat cocoa beans, as well as the spread of fungal disease Vascular Streak Dieback. The low quality of Indonesian cocoa makes the country's beans unsuitable for shipment to Europe, which puts a premium on top quality chocolate, with the bulk of material shipped to Asian countries such as Malaysia for grinding.
A Sulawesi-based trader said that the export tax was still high and meant exports from Indonesia this year will drop as buyers in Malaysia consider whether to buy cocoa from West African countries to replace Indonesian supplies. "I expects exports will drop 30-40 percent because Indonesia's cocoa price is very high, especially after the government imposed export tax of 15 percent," the trader added.