Indonesia's cocoa bean exports from its main growing island of Sulawesi slipped 23 percent in January from the same month a year ago, and was down 26 percent from the previous month, industry data showed on Wednesday.
Sulawesi cocoa exports were at 8,904.25 tonnes in January from 11,634.66 tonnes a year ago, data from the Indonesia Cocoa Association showed. December exports were at 12,051.72 tonnes. Indonesia is the world's third-largest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast and Ghana but its industry is battling disease and adverse weather conditions that have hampered cocoa supplies.
Smallholders own 92 percent of the total plantation area, and the rest is held by state-owned and private plantation firms. Last year, a poor crop after an abnormally wet rainy season and an outbreak of a deadly fungal disease ahead of the main harvest in April curbed shipments. Indonesia's cocoa output is estimated to rise to 1.3 million tonnes this year, from 712,230 tonnes in 2011, according to the agriculture ministry.
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