Indonesia's cocoa industry expects to process 360,000 tonnes of beans in both 2015 and 2016, down around 10 percent from last year due to a declining local crop and restrictions on imports. Cocoa processors in the world's No 3 producer of the chocolate ingredient have in recent years relied on imports of beans from West Africa to meet shortfalls in domestic output.
But government regulations issued in February stipulate that imported cocoa beans must be checked in laboratories in their countries of origin before shipment to ensure they are not contaminated. "The industry couldn't import for the first half of this year," said Sindra Widjaja, executive director of the Indonesia Cocoa Industry Association, adding that there was a shortage of facilities overseas that met the standards of Indonesia's quarantine body.
Indonesia's cocoa bean imports are expected to decline 10 percent this year from around 50,000 tonnes in 2015, Widjaja said. He said that imports on restrictions did not need to be so strict as beans go through "lengthy and sterile" preparation processes in Indonesia. Widjaja also noted that Indonesia charges a total of 17.5 percent in taxes and duties on cocoa bean imports compared to nothing in its neighbours Singapore and Malaysia.
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